Joseph Westphal
United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
In office
March 28, 2014 – January 9, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJames Smith
United States Undersecretary of the Army
In office
September 21, 2009 – March 28, 2014
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byNelson Ford
Succeeded byBrad Carson
United States Secretary of the Army
Acting
In office
March 5, 2001 – May 31, 2001
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byGregory Dahlberg (Acting)
Succeeded byThomas White
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
In office
June 1998 – March 5, 2001
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byMartin Lancaster
Succeeded byMichael Parker
Personal details
Born (1948-01-26) January 26, 1948 (age 76)
Santiago, Chile
Alma materAdelphi University
University of Missouri, Columbia

Joseph W. Westphal (born January 26, 1948) is an American diplomat who was most recently the United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He served as the 30th United States Under Secretary of the Army from 2009–2014.

Early life and education

Westphal was born in Santiago, Chile.[1] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Adelphi University in New York[2] and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Missouri.[3]

Career

Westphal served as the head of the Department of Political Science at Oklahoma State University between 1975 and 1987 and as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University while working at the law firm of Patton Boggs.[4] He served as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works from 1998 to 2001 and the Acting Secretary of the Army in 2001.[5] He also served as Chancellor of the University of Maine System[1] from 2002–2006 and was a professor of Political Science at the University of Maine from 2002 – 2009.[6] He later served as the Provost, at The New School in New York City.[7]

Westphal was a member of President Obama’s Transition Team for Defense[8] and was appointed as the United States Under Secretary of the Army in September, 2009. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia on March 26, 2014 and sworn in the same day.[9][10] Westphal is a Senior Global Fellow at the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies at the Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania. Westphal is also a Senior Fellow at the Wharton Leadership Program at UPenn.

References

  1. ^ a b Heil, Emily (21 October 2013). "Senior Army official said to be in line for Saudi ambassadorship". Washington Post. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  2. ^ Cohen, Ruth-Ellen (19 October 2002). "An Army of One; New UMS chancellor already making mark on state education scene". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  3. ^ "U.S. army undersecretary picked to be next Saudi envoy". The Peninsula Times. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  4. ^ Cohen, Ruth-Ellen (7 February 2002). "Westphal selected for UMS top post; Ex-Army official unanimous choice". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  5. ^ William Gardner Bell. Secretaries of war and secretaries of the army: portr. & biograph. sketches. Government Printing Office. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-16-087635-6.
  6. ^ "Looking for needles in a federal haystack". Washington Post. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  7. ^ Santora, Marc; Foderaro, Lisa W. (11 December 2008). "New School Faculty Votes No Confidence in Kerrey". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  8. ^ Knickmeyer, Ellen (8 November 2013). "U.S. Army undersecretary picked to be Saudi envoy". WSJ. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Obama and Biden have managed to get a few ambassador confirmations while on the road". Washington Post. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  10. ^ "Joseph W. Westphal". Embassy of the United States, Riyadh Saudi Arabia. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2014. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
Political offices Preceded byMartin Lancaster Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works 1998–2001 Succeeded byMichael Parker Preceded byGregory DahlbergActing United States Secretary of the ArmyActing 2001 Succeeded byThomas White Preceded byNelson Ford United States Undersecretary of the Army 2009–2014 Succeeded byBrad Carson Diplomatic posts Preceded byJames Smith United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia 2014–2017 Vacant
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