Leon Panetta

Celebrity Speaker Leon Panetta is currently a politician and was the former White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton. Panetta was also the United States Secretary of Defense for Barack Obama, and represented California’s 17th District as a member of the U.S. House of Representative in 1993.

Earlier in his life after graduating from Santa Clara University, Panetta joined the Army and served for two years and then was discharged. After he was discharged, that is when he got more into politics in terms of his career, and was a legislative assistant. In his early career he wanted to focus on enforcing civil rights and equal education laws. While he started off with the Republican Party, he switched over to the Democratic Party after a handful of years. After a stint in Congress dealing with mostly budget issues, Leon became the Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget under President Bill Clinton.

Celebrity Speaker Leon Panetta was responsible for a balanced federal budget in 1998, but later gave up his job as the Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget after a few years. This was when he moved on to becoming the White House Chief of Staff. As if he didn’t do enough, after being the White House Chief of Staff for three years, Joe Biden sworn Panetta in as Director of the CIA after Barack Obama nominated him in 2009. Following his job as Director of the CIA, Leon was sworn into the United States Secretary of Defense, and harped on the budget problems in the U.S. Military.

Aside from all that he has done in terms of politics, Panetta also founded the Panetta Institute of Public Policy in 1997, along with his wife Sylvia. He has also been a known advocate for the oceans and preservation, joining multiple committees to come up with solutions. Considering his long list of roles in politics, in 2014, Panetta wrote a book about his history and career. Currently, he is still a politician and remains loyal to the Democratic Party.