President George W. Bush Role Lawyer Name Kenneth Wainstein | President George W. Bush Preceded by Frances Townsend Succeeded by John O. Brennan | |
 | ||
Full Name Kenneth Leonard Wainstein Alma mater University of Virginia
University of California at Berkeley Education University of Virginia, University of California, Berkeley | ||
Kenneth Leonard "Ken" Wainstein (born 1962) is an American lawyer. He served as the first Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and later as the Homeland Security Advisor to United States President George W. Bush.
Contents
Education
Wainstein is a graduate of the University of Virginia and earned his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
Career
Wainstein worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as General Counsel and as Chief of Staff to the FBI Director. He was United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.
On September 26, 2006, he was sworn in as the Department of Justice's Assistant Attorney General responsible for National Security.
Wainstein was appointed Homeland Security Advisor by President George W. Bush on March 30, 2008. He was also Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism and chaired the Homeland Security Council. He was appointed as the "National Continuity Coordinator" under the auspices of National Security Presidential Directive 51.
Wainstein also serves as a member of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, a group that encourages and advocates changes to government policy to strengthen national biodefense. In order to address biological threats facing the nation, the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense created a 33 step initiative for the U.S. Government to implement. Headed by former Senator Joe Lieberman and former Governor Tom Ridge, the Study Panel assembled in Washington D.C. for four meetings concerning current biodefense programs. The Study Panel concluded that the federal government had little to no defense mechanisms in case of a biological event. The Study Panel's final report, The National Blueprint for Biodefense, proposes a string of solutions and recommendations for the U.S. Government to take, including items such as giving the Vice President authority over biodefense responsibilities and merging the entire biodefense budget. These solutions represent the Panel's call to action in order to increase awareness and activity for pandemic related issues.