US secretary of defense retires

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates retires today, RIA Novosti reports.

Gates was appointed by George Bush Jr., replacing Donald Rumsfeld.
Robert Gates was willing to retire in 2011, a year before the
presidential elections in the USA. It has been the longest term of
office for a defense secretary.

President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle organized a special
evening at the White House for Gates. The Pentagon will also have an
evening for the secretary today. The US president will make a speech.
Leon Panetta will be the new Secretary of Defense on July 1. Panetta,
as Gates, was the CIA chief before taking the post.

Gates specialized on Russia and the USSR. He graduated as a specialist
for Eastern European states in 1966. He became a PhD in Russian and
Soviet History at the Georgetown University in 1974. Gates has
pro-Russian views. He has good ties with the Russian Defense Minister
Anatoly Serdyukov, they discussed military reforms.