Peter J. Beshar serves as the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Air Force. He was nominated by President Biden in late 2021 and confirmed by the Senate in March 2022.
As the Department’s Chief Legal Officer and Designated Agency Ethics Official, Mr. Beshar provides oversight and guidance to 2,600 civilian and military lawyers and nearly 500,000 active duty and civilian members of the Air Force and Space Force.
From 2004 to 2022, Mr. Beshar served as General Counsel of Marsh McLennan, a Fortune 150 professional services firm with 80,000 employees in 100 countries. Mr. Beshar led the legal, compliance, public affairs and risk management departments. Mr. Beshar is a recognized thought leader on cyber security with expertise at the intersection of public policy and private enterprise. He has testified multiple times before the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the European Parliament and has authored op-eds in the Washington Post, New York Times, and US News and World Report.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Beshar was appointed by President Obama as the Trustee of the Wilson Center. He also served as the special assistant to the former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, in the peace negotiations in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia.
Mr. Beshar is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School.
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 the 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 December 2022)