General John R. Dailey

General John R. Dailey was the Acting Associate Deputy Administrator of NASA from November 3, 1992 to December 31, 1999. He assumed these duties upon retirement from the United States Marine Corps where he was serving as Assistant Commandant. In January 2000, he became the director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and served in that role until 2018.

While at NASA, General Dailey led the agency reinvention activities initiated by the NASA Administrator. He guided the development of the strategic management process to focus the NASA mission and boost productivity in a reduced budget environment. Under his leadership, the NASA Senior Management Council developed the NASA Strategic Plan, the cornerstone of the strategic management process, and the NASA Strategic Management Handbook which documents the Agency’s management policies, processes, guidelines and responsibilities. He served on the President’s Management Council, the Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordinating Board and various other national and international Boards and Committees.

His career in the Marine Corps spanned 36 years and included a wide variety of operational and staff assignments. He is a pilot with over 6,000 hours in fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. He has extensive command experience including the Marine Corps Systems Command and the Armed Forces Staff College. He flew 450 missions during two tours in Vietnam and has numerous personal decorations which he received for combat operations.

He is married to the former Mimi Rodian of Copenhagen, Denmark. They have two married children, Lisa Bader and Nils Dailey.