Michele Leonhart

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Michele M. Leonhart
Michele M. Leonhart

Michele Marie Leonhart is an American career law enforcement officer and the Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Following the resignation of Administrator Karen P. Tandy in the fall of 2007, Leonhart also served as Acting Administrator of the DEA.

President George W. Bush announced his intention to nominate Leonhart as Deputy Administrator on 31 July 2003,[1] and submitted her nomination to the United States Senate on 3 October 2003.[2] The Senate confirmed her nomination on 8 March 2004.[3] On 15 April 2008, the White House announced that President Bush intended to nominate Leonhart to succeed Tandy as the next Administrator of DEA.[4] Leonhart's nomination was received by the Senate the same day and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.[5]

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[edit] Early career

Leonhart graduated from college in Minnesota with a B.S. in Criminal Justice in 1978. Upon graduation, she pursued her career goal to be a police officer, joining the Baltimore Police Department. She graduated from the Baltimore Police Academy and performed patrol functions in the Northwest District of Baltimore.

[edit] Service with the DEA

Leonhart was appointed as a DEA Special Agent in late 1980, and was first assigned to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she worked for five years. In 1986, Leonhart transferred to the St. Louis Field Division where she became the Special Agent recruiter for the division. She was promoted to a GS-14 Group Supervisor position in the San Diego Field Division in early 1988. After a short assignment as the supervisor of an intelligence group, she supervised an enforcement group for five years.

Leonhart was featured in a documentary filmed by the BBC in 1991. Her enforcement group conducted numerous investigations to include international smuggling cases. The most notorious of her group’s investigations was the investigation of a major Bolivia-based cocaine cartel that resulted in the arrest and conviction of cartel leader Jorge Roca-Suarez, co-defendants, and the seizure of over $14 million in assets. Leonhart was awarded the DEA Administrator’s Award in 1993 for her distinguished service as a group supervisor.

In 1993, Leonhart transferred to DEA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, where she served as an (internal affairs) inspector with the DEA Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). In 1994, Leonhart was promoted to GS-15 and served on DEA’s Career Board until her assignment as Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Division in 1995. In 1996, she was promoted to the ranks of the Senior Executive Service (SES) and was assigned oversight of the Special Agent Recruitment Program at DEA Headquarters. Leonhart was appointed in 1997 as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the San Francisco Field Division, where she served until her appointment in September 1998 as the SAC of the Los Angeles Field Division. In that capacity, she commanded DEA offices and enforcement operations in the Los Angeles area, as well as Nevada, Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan. She remained in this position until 3 September 2003, when President Bush announced his intention to designate Leonhart as Acting Deputy Administrator.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Personnel Announcement (html). The White House, Office of the Press Secretary (2003-07-31). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  2. ^ Nominations Sent to the Senate (html). The White House, Office of the Press Secretary (2003-10-03). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  3. ^ Presidential Nomination (html). The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  4. ^ Personnel Announcement (html). The White House, Office of the Press Secretary (2008-04-15). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  5. ^ Presidential Nomination (html). The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  6. ^ Personnel Announcement (html). The White House, Office of the Press Secretary (2003-09-03). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Karen Tandy		 Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration
2007–Present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent (Acting)
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