China News Agency, Washington, October 25 (Reporter Sha Hanting) Former US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter's family issued a statement on the 25th local time, saying that Carter died of a heart attack in Boston on the evening of the 24th. 68 years old.
Carter served as Secretary of Defense during the Obama administration from 2015 to 2017.
He previously held the positions of Deputy Secretary of Defense and Assistant Minister of Defense.
U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that day that Carter was "a man of exceptional integrity, a strong sense of morality, and a lifelong commitment to serving the public."
Biden said Carter was a "trustworthy person" for him and former President Barack Obama.
Obama also issued a statement that day, saying that "in building a stronger, smarter, more humane and more effective military", he relied on Carter's "strategic opinion."
During Carter's tenure as Defense Secretary, the Department of Defense allowed women for the first time in 2015 to hold all positions in the military, including the most dangerous commandos.
In 2016, the Defense Department lifted the ban on transgender people from joining the military.
Carter has said that women make up 50 percent of the population and should be given the opportunity if they are qualified enough to do their jobs.
Regarding the lifting of the ban on transgender people from joining the military, Carter said that the mission of the military is to defend the country, and things that have nothing to do with a person's aptitude and ability should not be a hindrance to joining the military.
Carter was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in September 1954.
He obtained a double major in physics and history from Yale University in the United States in his early years, and then obtained a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
Carter was a professor at Harvard for many years before becoming assistant secretary of defense in 1993.
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