Biography

Jeh Charles Johnson (born September 11, 1957) is an American lawyer and former government official. He was United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017. From 2009 to 2012, Johnson was the general counsel of the Department of Defense during the first years of the Obama administration. Before joining the Obama administration, he was a federal prosecutor, the general counsel of the Department of the Air Force, and an attorney in private practice. Johnson is currently a partner at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, a member of the board of directors of MetLife, and a trustee of Columbia University. On May 5, 2025, it was announced that Johnson was appointed co-chair of the Board of Trustees at Columbia University, and that he would retire from Paul Weiss effective June 30, 2025.