Georgetown SFS Chuck Hagel Nominated for U.S. Secretary of Defense

Senator Chuck Hagel, a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of National Governance at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) in Washington, DC, was nominated yesterday by U.S. President Barack Obama to serve as the 24th United States Secretary of Defense. At Georgetown, Senator Hagel’s teaching focuses on 21st century geopolitical relationships.

Senator Hagel is well-known for his two-terms representing Nebraska in the United States Senate from 1997 to 2009. He is currently the chairman of the Atlantic Council and is also author of the book, America: Our Next Chapter: Tough Questions, Straight Answers, which examines America’s current condition and provides robust proposals for how the United States can meet 21st century challenges.

At the Qatar campus of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (SFS-Q), Dean Gerd Nonneman commented: “we are obviously particularly pleased to hear of President Obama’s nomination of Senator Hagel. His breadth and depth of experience, and his lucid, thoughtful engagement with some of the most challenging issues of global politics, will be invaluable in helping to inform and execute US policies over the next few, critical years.”

During his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Hagel was a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee; and the Intelligence Committee. He chaired the Foreign Relations International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion Subcommittee, and the Banking Committee’s International Trade and Finance Subcommittee and the Banking Committee’s Securities Subcommittee. Hagel was also chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and the Senate Climate Change Observer Group.

In addition to chairing the Atlantic Council, Senator Hagel serves on the Boards of Directors of Chevron Corporation and Zurich’s Holding Company of America; the Advisory Boards of Corsair Capital, Deutsche Bank America, M.I.C. Industries and is a Senior Advisor to Gallup. He is Co-Chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board and a member of the Secretary of Defense’s Policy Board. He also serves as Chairman of the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration Advisory Committee and is a member of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) board of directors and the Systemic Risk Council.