Andrew ("Andy") Charles Weber (born 28 April 1960) is an American national security expert specializing in global health security and countering

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natura ...

. He is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks, a national security think tank based in Washington, DC. During the

Obama Administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

, he served for five years as the

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical & Biological Defense Programs The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical & Biological Defense Programs, or ASD(NCB), is the principal adviser to the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainm ...

, whose areas of responsibility include the U.S. nuclear, chemical, and biological defense programs. Appointed by President Obama, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 18 May 2009 and served until 1 October 2014. In addition, he coordinated U.S. leadership of the international Ebola response for the Department of State in 2014-15.

Early life

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Weber graduated from

Scarsdale High School Scarsdale High School (SHS) is a public high school in Scarsdale, New York, United States, a coterminous town and village in Westchester County, New York. It is a part of the Scarsdale Union Free School District. The school was founded in 1917. ...

in 1978. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1982 and received a Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) degree from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1986.

Career

He played a key role in the Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction efforts to remove weapons grade

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

from

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and Georgia, and nuclear capable Mikoyan MiG-29 from

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

, and to destroy Libyan and Syrian chemical weapons stockpiles. Weber also oversaw and developed the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and for his work has twice been awarded the Exceptional Civilian Service Medal. He served previously as a United States

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...

. From 2002 to 2008, Weber taught a course on Force and Diplomacy at the

Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

. Between 2016 and 2017, he and was a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs The Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, also known as the Belfer Center, is a research center located within the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, in the United States. From 2017 until his death in Oc ...

. He is a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

, and serves on multiple boards, including Healthcare Ready and the James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies International Advisory Council.

References

External links

Andrew Weber bio
Council on Strategic Risks
Interview with Andrew Weber
on the

80,000 Hours 80,000 Hours is a London-based nonprofit organisation that conducts research on which careers have the largest positive social impact and provides career advice based on that research. It provides this advice on their website and podcast, and ...

podcast
Speech by Andrew Weber detailing his time in Ukraine, including with Senator Obama
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Andrew C. 1960 births Living people People from New York City Scarsdale High School alumni Cornell University alumni Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Walsh School of Foreign Service faculty United States Assistant Secretaries of Defense Obama administration personnel