Paul Wolfowitz

Ambassador Paul Wolfowitz is a distinguished diplomat, politician and intellectual. Prior to completing a doctorate in political science at the University of Chicago, he studied mathematics and chemistry. In addition to an educational career – he was Dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies for seven years – and his two years as President of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz is principally known for his active involvement in US diplomacy and foreign policy. He worked for 24 years as an expert on foreign affairs and national security in government service under seven US presidents, in both the State and Defense Departments. After focusing on East Asia in the 1980s, where he had the opportunity to play a role in supporting democratic transitions in the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia, Wolfowitz played a leading role in developing US strategy for the liberation of Kuwait and a post-Cold War defence strategy that enabled a shift from a global strategy to a regional one and a large-scale reduction in nuclear weapons. As Deputy Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush, his responsibilities included supervising the development of the Defense Department budget and assisting in the development of policies to respond to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, Wolfowitz is a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and sits on the advisory boards of a number of organizations that support US veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as several commercial firms.