Mark P. Lagon (born 1965) is an American political scientist and practitioner. His areas of expertise include human rights, global health, human trafficking, and global institutions and governance. Lagon is the Chief Policy Officer at Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and a Distinguished Senior Scholar at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

Education

Lagon earned his B.A. in government from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, graduating magna cum laude in 1986. He earned his Ph.D. with distinction 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 1991. Lagon later published his dissertation as a book called ''The Reagan Doctrine: Sources of American Conduct in the Cold War’s Last Chapter'' ( Praeger, 1994).

Career

Between 1991 and 1993, Lagon worked at the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. ...

. He then became an analyst at the

House Republican Policy Committee A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together w ...

and later moved to the

United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid pr ...

. In 2004, he became Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in International Organizational Affairs. Lagon attends signing of HR 7311

In 2007, Lagon was nominated by President

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 ...

to serve as the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large to and Director of the

Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP) is an agency within the United States Department of State charged with investigating and creating programs to prevent human trafficking both within the United States and internation ...

. Following his ambassadorship at the State Department, Lagon became Executive Director and CEO of the

Polaris Project Polaris is a nonprofit non-governmental organization that works to combat and prevent sex and labor trafficking in North America. The organization's 10-year strategy is built around the understanding that human trafficking does not happen in ...

. Lagon then co-founded the Global Business Coalition Against Human Trafficking, a partnership of businesses addressing human trafficking in corporate activity around the world. In 2015, he was appointed President and CEO of

Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...

, a non-governmental organization that researches, advocates for, and assists the promotion of democracy and human rights globally. Lagon returned to the

Walsh School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It is considered to be one of the world's leading international affairs schools, granting degrees at both ...

in 2016. He was its inaugural Centennial Fellow and continues to be a Distinguished Senior Scholar. In 2017, he joined Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a US non-profit advocating for the

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (or simply the Global Fund) is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to "attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, t ...

, an international partnership between governments, businesses, and civil society to combat epidemics.

Publications

Lagon has published two books: * ''Human Dignity and the Future of Global Institutions'' (co-edited with

Anthony Clark Arend Anthony Clark Arend (born October 24, 1958) is Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University. On June 1, 2020, he became Chair of the Department of Government. From August 1, 2015 until July 15, 2018, he served as Senior Ass ...

;

Georgetown University Press Georgetown University Press is a university press affiliated with Georgetown University that publishes about forty new books a year. The press's major subject areas include bioethics, international affairs, languages and linguistics, political sc ...

, 2014) * ''The Reagan Doctrine: Sources of American Conduct in the Cold War’s Last Chapter'' (sole author; Praeger, 1994) His other works have been published in over 60 journals and newspapers. These journals include ''

Perspectives on Political Science ''Perspectives on Political Science'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering political philosophy. The journal was established in 1990 as a merger of ''Teaching Political Science'' (1973-1989) and ''Perspective'' (1972-1989). The ...

Policy Review ''Policy Review'' was a conservative journal published between 1977 to 2013. It was founded by The Heritage Foundation and was for many years the foundation's flagship publication.Gillian Peele, 'American Conservatism in Historical Perspective', i ...

Georgetown Journal of International Affairs The ''Georgetown Journal of International Affairs'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering international affairs. It is published by the Johns Hopkins University Press on behalf of the Walsh School of Foreign Service. The journal p ...

,'' '' Journal of Political Science,

The National Interest ''The National Interest'' (''TNI'') is an American bimonthly international relations magazine edited by American journalist Jacob Heilbrunn and published by the Center for the National Interest, a public policy think tank based in Washington, D ...

,'' and ''

World Affairs ''World Affairs'' is an American quarterly journal covering international relations. At one time, it was an official publication of the American Peace Society. The magazine has been published since 1837 and was re-launched in January 2008 as a new ...

.'' These newspapers include '' The Hill,

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

,'' and ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. Lagon has written a variety of pieces on behalf of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Personal life

Lagon is the son of World War II-era Polish refugees and was raised in

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the conflu ...

. He is married to Dr. Susan Lagon, a political scientist and longtime Senior Fellow at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagon, Mark P. Living people 1965 births Georgetown University alumni Harvard University alumni People from Concord, Massachusetts American political scientists United States Assistant Secretaries of State United States Ambassadors-at-Large