Paul Wolfowitz has spent 24 years in government service under six Presidents. In March, 2001, he began his third tour at the Defense Department as the 28th Deputy Secretary of Defense. In the PentagonŐs number two post, Wolfowitz manages day-to-day operations and supports the Secretary of Defense. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, Wolfowitz has assisted in planning the global war on terrorism, including military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In 1989, President George H.W. Bush appointed Wolfowitz to his second Defense Department tour as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, the PentagonŐs third-ranking post. He assisted Defense Secretary Cheney in developing plans for prosecuting the Gulf War and in raising more than $50 billion in allied financial support.
Under President Reagan, Wolfowitz served three years as U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, the fourth most-populous country in the world and the largest in the Muslim world. During his tour, he was an advocate for political reform and negotiated on behalf of American intellectual property rights. Under his direction, U.S. Embassy Jakarta was recognized by the Inspector General as one of the best-managed U.S. diplomatic missions.
Before being posted to Indonesia, Wolfowitz served two years as head of the State DepartmentŐs Policy Planning Office and three-and-a-half years as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, working with the leaders of more than 20 countries. Wolfowitz assisted in a major improvement in U.S. relations with China and a strengthening of our alliances with Japan and Korea. He also played a key role in supporting the peaceful transition to democracy in the Philippines and laying the groundwork for the subsequent democratic transition in Korea.
During his first Pentagon tour as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Regional Programs from 1977-1980, Wolfowitz led the first major assessment of U.S. strategic interests and challenges in the Persian Gulf, a study which helped to create what later became the United States Central Command. He also helped initiate the Maritime Pre-positioning Program, a plan that positioned heavy weapons and ammunition aboard ships in the Persian Gulf region. That preparation was the backbone of the initial U.S. response 12 years later during Operation Desert Shield.
Wolfowitz has written widely on national security strategy and foreign policy. He was a member of the advisory boards of the journals Foreign Affairs and National Interest. Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz earned a bachelorŐs degree in mathematics from Cornell University in 1965 and a doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago in 1972.