Mark T. Esper is currently a Senior Scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy and an Independent Consultant. Until February 2008, Mr. Esper served as the National Policy Director for the Fred Thompson 2008 Presidential Campaign. In this capacity, he was responsible for organizing the candidate's policy teams, engaging senior outside advisors, meeting with issue experts from think tanks and academia, and helping develop the campaign's domestic, economic, defense, and foreign policy positions. Mr. Esper also served as the candidate's National Security Advisor.
Before joining the Thompson Campaign, Mr. Esper was Executive Vice President of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) of America, the premier trade organization representing the nation's aerospace and defense industry. In addition to his duties as COO, Mr. Esper was also responsible for AIA's defense and international policy offices.
Mr. Esper served a number of years on Capitol Hill. His last assignment was Director of National Security Affairs for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), where he was responsible for all foreign policy, defense, and intelligence matters. He served earlier in his career as Policy Director for the House Armed Services Committee, and as a senior professional staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. In each of these capacities he was responsible for a national security portfolio that included nonproliferation, arms control, security treaties, arms sales, export controls, NATO, terrorism, defense industrial base, relations with Russia and China, and a host of other matters.
From 2002 until 2004 Mr. Esper served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Negotiations Policy at the Pentagon. In this capacity he was responsible for all arms control, nonproliferation, international agreements, UN matters, and related issues for the Defense Department. He led teams of negotiators in Geneva, assisted in delegations to allied capitals, and represented the department on Capitol Hill, in the interagency, and in the media. For his service at the Pentagon he was awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal.
Earlier in his career Mr. Esper served as the Legislative Director and Senior Policy Advisor for Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE). He was also Chief of Staff at The Heritage Foundation, a renowned Washington-based think tank.
Mr. Esper is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and Infantry officer who served over a decade on active duty, including a combat tour in Iraq during the 1990-91 Gulf War, and assignments with the 101st Airborne Division and the 82nd Airborne Division. His last active duty assignment was as a strategy and policy analyst, and USPACOM planning officer, at the Pentagon. During his time in uniform, Mr. Esper received a number of awards, including the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medals, and Combat Infantryman's Badge.
Mr. Esper is a distinguished graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. He earned an MPA from the JFK School of Government at Harvard University and is completing his Ph.D. at the George Washington University in Washington, DC.