Wolfowitz, Paul (1943–)
WOLFOWITZ, PAUL (1943–)
U.S. deputy secretary of defense. Paul Wolfowitz was born on 22 December 1943. He received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Cornell University in 1965 and a doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago in 1972. He worked from 1973 to 1977 in the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, participating in Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, and joined the Pentagon in 1977 as deputy assistant secretary of defense for regional programs. He served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, then as U.S. ambassador to Indonesia. From 1989 to 1993, Wolfowitz served as undersecretary of defense for policy, then in 1994 became dean and professor of international relations at Johns Hopkins University. In March 2001, Wolfowitz was sworn in as U.S. deputy secretary of defense. An early advocate of "preemptive" U.S. strikes against Iraq, he is considered a hawkish neoconservative. Wolfowitz supports a pro-Israel policy, yet he has publicly acknowledged the sufferings of the Palestinian people, for which he was heckled at a pro-Israel rally in 2002.