Jean-Marc Villeneuve

Jean-Marc Sorel Villeneuve (born June 12th, 1916) is an American government official and retired United States Army Sergeant who, since his appointment on February 26th, 1949, has served as the 1st United States Secretary of Defense. Prior to serving as Secretary of Defense, Villeneuve was the Mayor of Duluth, Rockford from 1948 to 1949.

Villeneuve was a Sergeant Major in the United States Army during the Second World War, seeing combat in Africa and Europe under the Seventh United States Army. He also served in the Duluth Police Department both before and after the war, reaching the rank of Sergeant, before running for Mayor.

Early Life and Education
Villeneuve was born on June 12th, 1916, in Superior, Wisconsin, in the 2nd Republic of the United States. At the age of seven, Villeneuve and his family moved to nearby Duluth, Minnesota, in the affluent Piedmont Heights neighborhood. Villeneuve graduated from Denfeld High School in 1934, and attended the College of St. Scholastica from 1934 until graduating in 1938.

Villeneuve would follow his Grandfather's example, and attended a Police academy in Minneapolis, graduating in 1939. (Villeneuve's grandfather served in the Parisian Police Force when he lived in France.)