Joseph W. Westphal
Joseph W. Westphal (born January 26, 1948 ) is an American politician and university professor . In 2001 he was Acting Secretary of State for the Army .
Studies and university professor
Westphal first studied political science at Adelphi University , which he completed in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) , and then postgraduate studies at the University of Missouri , which he finally completed with a Philosophiae Doktor ( Ph. D. ). He then served for twelve years as a professor and later also as dean of the Faculty of Political Science at Oklahoma State University .
After retiring from politics in 2001, he initially became a partner and chief political advisor at Patton Boggs LLP ( Washington, DC ).
Finally, on April 1, 2002, he was appointed Chancellor of the University of Maine System . He held this office until 2006. He then worked as a professor of political science at the University of Maine. His main research and teaching topics are US , particularly Congress , environmental policy, and national security . He was also a visiting professor (adjunct professor) at Georgetown University .
Government and Congress official
At the beginning of the 1980s he was an employee of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives and then the Ministry of the Interior .
In 1988 he became the executive director of the Sunbelt Caucus , a coalition of the two parties represented in Congress ( Democrats and Republicans ) from the area south of the 37th parallel of the United States . He was also a temporary assistant to Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran .
Subsequently, he was Senior Policy Adviser for water law at the Environmental Protection Agency , where he dealt in particular with issues relating to the Clean Water Act, transport and infrastructure, the water quality of the Mississippi River , child health and international conventions.
In June 1998 he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) by President Bill Clinton . He continued to exercise this office under his successor, George W. Bush, until March 2001. In this function he was particularly responsible for the Army Corps of Engineers and in this function one of the main driving forces behind the renewal and expansion of this corps for use for national needs such as public infrastructure and environmental protection. He also was a member of the Presidential Commission for Drought Relief (President's Drought Policy Commission), the Commission for the restoration of the lakes (Lakes Recreation Commission) and the Special Unit for coral reefs (Coral Reef Task Force). Finally, during his tenure as Assistant Secretary of the Army, he also held the presidency of the Coastal America Program. He was also responsible for the administration of Arlington National Cemetery .
On March 5, 2001, President Bush finally appointed him acting Secretary of the Army after the resignation of Gregory R. Dahlberg . However, he had to cede this office on May 31, 2001 to Thomas E. White .
Under President Barack Obama , Westphal returned to government service in 2009 as Under Secretary of the Army ; he succeeded Nelson M. Ford . He held this office until March 2014, when he succeeded James B. Smith as the United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Washington Post: Obama and Biden have managed to get a few ambassador confirmations while on the road (March 27, 2014)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Westphal, Joseph W. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American university professor and politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 26, 1948 |