Anna Rosenberg*
Class of 1949
- Assistant Secretary Department of Defense
I was not born in this country, but I adopted it and its values and was proud to serve several administrations here and overseas.
Anna Rosenberg was born in 1902 in Budapest, Hungary. She immigrated with her family to the United States and settled in the Bronx in 1912.
In the early 1920s, she became involved with politics. She served as an advisor to New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. After FDR was elected president, he continued to seek Rosenberg's advice. During World War II, she served in a variety of federal government labor-related positions. In 1945, she was awarded the Medal of Freedom and received the U.S. Medal for Merit in 1947.
Rosenberg went on to serve as assistant secretary of defense from 1950 to 1953. Among other things, she helped promote racial integration of the military. Her overall government service shattered the glass ceiling separating women from the Pentagon establishment.