Gary Edson is a former

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government official, entrepreneur, and former president of

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. He served previously as chief executive officer of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that concluded operations in late 2012. From 2001 to 2004, Edson served in the administration of

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

Deputy National Security Advisor The United States Deputy National Security Advisor is a member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and the United States National Security Council, serving under the President's National Security Advisor. Among other res ...

and deputy assistant to the president for international economic affairs; he was also Deputy National Economic Advisor. In addition, he was the chief U.S. negotiator or “sherpa” for all presidential summits, including the G8,

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, US-EU, and the

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. Edson co-led the development of the $45 billion

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, the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative. He is also credited with establishing the

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(MCC) to fight global poverty. The MCC uses increased aid to reward countries demonstrating a commitment to

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. Edson left government in 2005 because of a serious illness, from which he has since recovered. He was a managing director at

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, and for a time sat on the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. One observer described Edson as “brainy” and “impatient… a spicy jalapeno pepper in the midst of the smooth cream cheese” of the White House. Former secretary of state James A. Baker has called him “indispensable,” noting, "I've never known anybody from whom the taxpayers get a better deal." In her 2011 memoir, former secretary of state

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...

praises Edson as being "one of the best 'policy engineers' I'd ever known, one of those rare individuals who can take an idea from inception to implementation."

Early career

Earlier in his career, Edson served as chief of staff and general counsel to U.S. Trade Representative Carla A. Hills from 1989 to 1992, and special assistant to Deputy Secretary of State Kenneth W. Dam from 1982 to 1985. He headed a

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firm, ECG, Inc., which acquired PAR Systems, Inc, a manufacturer of robotics systems, of which Edson was chairman of the board.

Education

Edson received a B.A. with honors in anthropology from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1977, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from The

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in 1982. He was a

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in Japan, 1977–1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edson, Gary Year of birth missing (living people) United States presidential advisors George W. Bush administration personnel Living people Stanford University alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni