Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter dead at 68, family says

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Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter dead at 68

Former defense secretary for the Obama administration Ashton Carter died at 68 years old due to a ‘sudden cardiac event,’ according to his family.

Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who served in the post under former President Obama, has died at 68, his family announced Tuesday.

Carter is survived by his wife, Stephanie, and his children, Ava and Will. Obama nominated Carter to lead the Pentagon in 2014. In the role, Carter would be the first defense secretary to confront ISIS in the Middle East, a plague that would survive into former President Trump's administration.

"It is with deep and profound sadness that the family of former Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter shares that Secretary Carter passed away Monday evening in Boston after a sudden cardiac event at the age of 68," his family announced in a statement. 

"Carter, the 25th Secretary of Defense and Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School, devoted his professional life to the national security of the United States and teaching students about international affairs. He was a beloved husband, father, mentor, and friend. His sudden loss will be felt by all who knew him," they added.

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Ashton Carter, former U.S. secretary of defense, reacts during a panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 25, 2018. (Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Former President Obama stands alongside Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and then-Vice President Joe Biden during the Armed Forces Full Honor Review Farewell Ceremony for Obama at Joint Base Myers-Henderson Hall. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Carter was complementary of the Trump administration's efforts to combat unrest in the Middle East, despite being appointed by Obama. He remarked on the effectiveness of Trump's sanctions against Iran in 2019.

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Carter received the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Pentagon's highest honor, five separate times throughout his career.

The Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense. (Reuters/Carlos Barria/File Photo)

"As Director of the Belfer Center since 2017, Secretary Carter continued to teach and share his experience and knowledge with Harvard students. A Rhodes Scholar and theoretical physicist, Secretary Carter loved academia, teaching, and mentoring students. He believed that his most profound legacy would be the thousands of students he taught with the hope that they would make the world a better and safer place," his family wrote.

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