Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter, who served under the Barack Obama administration, has passed away at 68 after suffering a cardiac arrest. 

“It is with deep and profound sadness that the family of former Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter shares that Secretary Carter passed away Monday evening in Boston after a sudden cardiac event at the age of 68,” a statement by his family reads.

When Mr Carter was the defense secretary, he relaxed the military’s recruitment guidelines, enabling the enlistment of women and transgender, a policy that was swiftly overturned when Donald Trump became president.

Mr Carter until his death taught public policy and directed the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School.

The U.S. President Joe Biden mourned the former defense secretary with glowing words, describing him as a “great American of the utmost integrity” and “a leader on all the major national security issues of our times.” 

“When I think of Ash Carter, I think of a man of extraordinary integrity. Honest. Principled. Guided by a strong, steady moral compass and a vision of using his life for public purpose,” Mr Biden said in reaction to Mr Carter’s demise.

Similarly, Mr Obama described him as “a steadfast defender of our men and women in uniform,” stressing he was “proud” to have appointed him the secretary of defense in 2014.

The former president asserted Mr Carter’s greatest legacy were “the generations of younger leaders he taught, mentored, and inspired to protect our nation and wield power wisely.”