On June 11, 2002, James Rodney Schlesinger (born in New York City on February 15, 1929), was appointed by U.S President George W. Bush to the Homeland Security Advisory Council.

He also serves as a Consultant to the United States Department of Defense; is a member of the Defense Policy Board.

He has served as:

  • the Secretary of Energy under Jimmy Carter (1977-79);
  • Assistant to the President (1977);
  • Secretary of Defense (1973-75);
  • Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1973);
  • Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission under Richard M. Nixon (1973);
  • Acting Deputy Director, Bureau of the Budget (later OMB), and Assistant Director (1969-71);
  • Director of Strategic Studies (1967-1969)
  • Senior Staff Member (1963-1967), RAND Corporation;
  • Consultant, U.S. Bureau of the Budget (1967-68);
  • Consultant, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (1962-63);
  • Academic Consultant, U.S. Naval War College (1957).

Schlesinger is currently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the MITRE Corporation; a Senior Advisor for Lehman Brothers; Publisher of The National Interest; a Director of BNFL, Inc, Peabody Energy, Sandia Corporation, Seven Seas Petroleum Company, and Chairman of the Executive Committee of The Nixon Center.