michael nacht 2

Michael Nacht

Nacht holds the Thomas and Alison Schneider Chair in Public Policy in the Goldman School of Public Policy. An expert in U.S. national security and foreign policy, and management strategies for public organizations, Nacht is the author or co-author of six books and more than 80 book chapters and journal articles in these fields. He has twice held U.S. Senate-confirmed positions in national security policy. He was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs in 2009–10, shaping policies on nuclear weapons, missile defense, and space and cyber capabilities for which he received the Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Department of Defense’s highest civilian honor. From 1994—97, Nacht served as Assistant Director for Strategic and Eurasian Affairs in the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, leading its work on nuclear arms reduction negotiations with Russia and initiating nuclear arms control talks with China. He participated in five Clinton summit meetings, four with Russian President Boris Yeltsin and one with Chinese President Jiang Zemin. After the 9/11 attacks, he held a three-year term from 2001–04 as a member of the Department of Defense Threat Reduction Advisory Committee, where he chaired panels on counterterrorism and counter-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.