Leslie Aspin was a longtime member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the first secretary of defense for President William J. Clinton. Aspin was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended Yale University, was a Rhodes Scholar, and eventually received a doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1966. He was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat from Wisconsin in 1970 and served until 1993, when he was appointed secretary of defense. Aspin's tenure at the Department of Defense was marked by controversy. He was beset by health problems and angered many conservatives by his embrace of deep cuts in defense expenditures and personnel. In addition, in December 1993, Aspin endeavored to craft a new policy toward homosexuals in the military. The resultant policy, known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," mandated that personnel would not be asked about their sexual orientation, but could be dismissed from the service for homosexual acts. The policy was criticized by gay rights groups for not going far enough and condemned by conservative groups for going too far. Aspin also angered conservatives by allowing women to fly combat aircraft and serve on combat ships in the navy. One result was that Aspin alienated military supporters in Congress.

Aspin was also criticized for the planning and operations during the 1993 Somalia intervention, especially after he refused a request by Colin Powell, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for helicopter gunships and tanks to support the U.S. operation in Mogadishu. The defeat of U.S. special operations forces during the Battle of Mogadishu was a low point in post–Cold War U.S. military history and constrained American participation in future humanitarian missions.

In 1993, Aspin opposed Clinton's decision to dispatch an American military force to Haiti to pressure the nation's military junta. When it confronted an angry mob in Port-au-Prince, the force withdrew before it even landed. The episode further undermined the credibility of the American military. The secretary also opposed U.S. intervention in the Balkan Wars, including the disbursement of humanitarian aid through airdrops. Aspin oversaw the military strikes against the regime of Saddam Hussein following revelations of a plot to assassinate former president George H. W. Bush by the Iraqis. In addition, Aspin managed successful rounds of base closures, which eliminated or consolidated more than 130 military facilities, including 30 large bases. The realignment resulted in savings of more than $2 billion per year.

As a result of ongoing differences with Clinton, Aspin resigned in 1994. He died of a stroke the following year.

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