2000年1月に戦略国際問題研究所(CSIS)の所長兼CEOに選出される。
CSIS参加以前には、第26代国防副長官を務める。
副長官就任以前の1993年から1997年にかけては、国防次官(会計監査担当)を務めた。
会計監査担当官として国防予算と運営改善プログラムの準備、発表および施行にあたり、国防長官の首席補佐官の役目を果たした。
2007年からは国防長官の諮問機関である国防政策協議会の議長。
国防省入省前には上院軍事委員会専門スタッフを10年間務め、主に調達、研究開発プログラム、国防予算問題、および上院歳出委員会との関係について監督・評価を担当した。
1978年から1984年にかけて議会予算局に勤務、国家安全保障および国際問題担当副部長代理として、上下院の委員会向けの分析やその他のサポートを担当した。
ジョンズ・ホプキンス大学高等国際問題研究大学院にて国際政治、国際経済および米国外交政策を専攻、1978年に優秀な成績で同大学院の博士号を取得。
John Hamre was elected president and CEO of CSIS in January 2000. Before joining CSIS, he served as the 26th U.S. deputy secretary of defense. Prior to holding that post, he was the under secretary of defense (comptroller) from 1993 to 1997. As comptroller, Dr. Hamre was the principal assistant to the secretary of defense for the preparation, presentation, and execution of the defense budget and management improvement programs. In 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appointed Dr. Hamre to serve as chairman of the Defense Policy Board, and he served in that capacity for four secretaries of defense.
Before serving in the Department of Defense, Dr. Hamre worked for 10 years as a professional staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. During that time, he was primarily responsible for the oversight and evaluation of procurement, research, and development programs, defense budget issues, and relations with the Senate Appropriations Committee. From 1978 to 1984, Dr. Hamre served in the Congressional Budget Office, where he became its deputy assistant director for national security and international affairs. In that position, he oversaw analysis and other support for committees in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Dr. Hamre received his Ph.D., with distinction, in 1978 from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.