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Ashton Carter, who was President Barack Obama’s last defense secretary, died Monday in Boston, his family said in a statement.
Mr. Carter led the Department of Defense from February 2015 to January 2017. He died after what family members said was a “sudden cardiac event.” Mr. Carter was 68.
“Needless to say, his family and friends are devastated by this news and are still processing his sudden passing. It was an honor and a privilege to serve him,” Peter Cook, his former spokesman in the Pentagon, said Tuesday.
President Obama nominated Mr. Carter to be secretary of defense in December 2014. During his time in the Pentagon, he helped to launch the campaign to defeat the Islamic State terror group in Iraq and Syria and opened up all combat positions to women.
He also announced a major shift in defense policy in late 2016 when he announced that transgender individuals could serve openly in the military and that service members could change their gender while serving.
