FTP, name Ronald Reagan's first secretary of defense.
He served three terms in the California state assembly in the 1950s before becoming the chair of the state's Republican Party in 1962.  He started in the Cabinet as Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1973-1975, then took a six-year hiatus into private industry in California, but re-emerged in the Cabinet to increase compensation to service members, order development of stealth aircraft and, ultimately, resign in 1987 during the Iran/Contra scandal. FTP, name Ronald Reagan's first secretary of defense.
He served three terms in the California state assembly in the 1950s before becoming the chair of the state's Republican Party in 1962.  
Caspar Weinberger