The Honorable Peter J. Beshar serves as the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Air Force. Mr. Beshar was nominated by President Biden in late 2021 and confirmed unanimously by the Senate in March 2022. As the Chief Legal Officer and Ethics Official of the Air Force and the Space Force, Mr. Beshar provides oversight and guidance to 2,500 civilian and military lawyers and 500,000 active duty and civilian members of the Department. Mr. Beshar has placed particular focus on emerging space law issues, nuclear modernization and the integration of commercial technologies.
From 2004 to 2022, Mr. Beshar served as the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Marsh McLennan, a professional services firm with 80,000 employees in 100 countries. A recognized thought leader on cyber security, Mr. Beshar has testified numerous times before the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the European Parliament and has authored op-eds in the Washington Post, New York Times, USA Today and US News and World Report.
In 2015, Mr. Beshar was appointed by President Obama as a Trustee of the Wilson Center for International Scholars. Earlier in his career, Mr. Beshar served as the Special Assistant to the former U.S. Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, in the peace negotiations in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia.
EDUCATION
1984 Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
1989 Juris Doctor, Cum Laude, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Mass.
CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. 1992–1993, Special Assistant, Honorable Cyrus Vance, International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia
2. 1994–1995, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, New York City, N.Y.
3. 1995–2004, Partner, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, New York City, N.Y.
4. 2004–2022, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Marsh McLennan, New York City, N.Y.
5. 2022–present, General Counsel, Department of the Air Force, Arlington, Va.
AWARDS AND HONORS
2019 Military Mondays Pro Bono Award, Legal Services NYC
2016 Distinguished Leadership Award, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
2014 Law and Society Award, New York Lawyers for Public Interest
2009 Business Leadership Award, Citizens Union of New York City
2007 David Rockefeller Fellow, Partnership for the City of New York
(Current as of August 2024)