Joseph W. Westphal

Joseph Westphal
Joseph Westphal
United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
	In office; March 28, 2014 – January 9, 2017
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	James B. Smith
Succeeded by	John Abizaid
United States Under Secretary of the Army
	In office; September 21, 2009 – March 28, 2014
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Nelson Ford
Succeeded by	Brad Carson
Acting United States Secretary of the Army
	In office; March 5, 2001 – May 31, 2001
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Gregory R. Dahlberg (acting)
Succeeded by	Thomas E. White
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
	In office; June 1998 – March 5, 2001
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Martin Lancaster
Succeeded by	Michael Parker
Personal details
Born	José Guillermo Westphal; January 26, 1948 (age 76); Santiago, Chile
Education	Adelphi University (BA); University of Missouri, Columbia (MA, PhD)

Joseph William Westphal^[1] (born January 26, 1948) is an American politician and 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 to 2014.

Early life and education

Westphal was born in Santiago, Chile.^[2] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Adelphi University in New York^[3] in 1970, a Master of Arts degree from Oklahoma State University in 1973 and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Missouri in 1980.^[1]^[4]

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.^[5] He served as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works from 1998 to 2001 and the Acting Secretary of the Army in 2001.^[6] He also served as chancellor of the University of Maine System^[2] from 2002 to 2006 and was a professor of political science at the University of Maine from 2002 to 2009.^[7] He later served as the provost, at The New School in New York City.^[8]

Westphal was a member of President Obama's Transition Team for Defense^[9] 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.^[10]^[11] Westphal is a senior global fellow and the Chung Sun Term Professor 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 and a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Biographical and Financial Information Requested of Nominees". Hearings before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate. Vol. 4. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1999. p. 178. ISBN 9780160582790. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Heil, Emily (October 21, 2013). "Senior Army official said to be in line for Saudi ambassadorship". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
^ Cohen, Ruth-Ellen (October 19, 2002). "An Army of One; New UMS chancellor already making mark on state education scene". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
^ "U.S. army undersecretary picked to be next Saudi envoy". The Peninsula Times. November 8, 2013. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
^ Cohen, Ruth-Ellen (February 7, 2002). "Westphal selected for UMS top post; Ex-Army official unanimous choice". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
^ William Gardner Bell (1982). Secretaries of war and secretaries of the army: portr. & biograph. sketches. Government Printing Office. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-16-087635-6.
^ "Looking for needles in a federal haystack". The Washington Post. November 7, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
^ Santora, Marc; Foderaro, Lisa W. (December 11, 2008). "New School Faculty Votes No Confidence in Kerrey". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
^ Knickmeyer, Ellen (November 8, 2013). "U.S. Army undersecretary picked to be Saudi envoy". WSJ. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
^ "Obama and Biden have managed to get a few ambassador confirmations while on the road". The Washington Post. March 27, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
^ "Joseph W. Westphal". Embassy of the United States, Riyadh Saudi Arabia. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2014.

External links

Appearances on C-SPAN

Political offices
Preceded by Martin Lancaster	Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works 1998–2001	Succeeded by Michael Parker
Preceded by Gregory Dahlberg Acting	United States Secretary of the Army Acting 2001	Succeeded by Thomas White
Preceded by Nelson Ford	United States Under Secretary of the Army 2009–2014	Succeeded by Brad Carson
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by James Smith	United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia 2014–2017	Succeeded by John Abizaid

[Senate_bio-1] "Biographical and Financial Information Requested of Nominees". Hearings before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate. Vol. 4. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1999. p. 178. ISBN 9780160582790. Retrieved March 28, 2021.

[Heil_2013-2] Heil, Emily (October 21, 2013). "Senior Army official said to be in line for Saudi ambassadorship". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 15, 2014.

[3] Cohen, Ruth-Ellen (October 19, 2002). "An Army of One; New UMS chancellor already making mark on state education scene". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved August 15, 2014.

[The_Peninsula_Times_2013-4] "U.S. army undersecretary picked to be next Saudi envoy". The Peninsula Times. November 8, 2013. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2014.

[5] Cohen, Ruth-Ellen (February 7, 2002). "Westphal selected for UMS top post; Ex-Army official unanimous choice". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved August 15, 2014.

[6] William Gardner Bell (1982). Secretaries of war and secretaries of the army: portr. & biograph. sketches. Government Printing Office. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-16-087635-6.

[7] "Looking for needles in a federal haystack". The Washington Post. November 7, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2014.

[8] Santora, Marc; Foderaro, Lisa W. (December 11, 2008). "New School Faculty Votes No Confidence in Kerrey". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2014.

[9] Knickmeyer, Ellen (November 8, 2013). "U.S. Army undersecretary picked to be Saudi envoy". WSJ. Retrieved August 15, 2014.

[Washington_Post_2014-10] "Obama and Biden have managed to get a few ambassador confirmations while on the road". The Washington Post. March 27, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.

[11] "Joseph W. Westphal". Embassy of the United States, Riyadh Saudi Arabia. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2014.

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v t e University of Maine System
Campuses	University of Maine University of Maine at Augusta University of Maine at Farmington University of Maine at Fort Kent University of Maine at Machias University of Maine at Presque Isle University of Maine School of Law University of Southern Maine
Chancellors	Robert Woodbury (1986–1993) Terry MacTaggart (1998–2001) Joseph W. Westphal (2002–2006) Terry MacTaggart (2006–2007) Richard Pattenaude (2007–2012) James H. Page (2012–2019) Dannel Malloy (2019–present)

Authority control databases
International	VIAF WorldCat
National	United States
Other	SNAC