Weber

Andrew C. Weber ’82, assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, will give a talk titled “Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction” Thursday, March 27, at 4:30 p.m. in Lewis Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall.

Weber is principal adviser to the U.S. secretary of defense and is staff director of the Nuclear Weapons Council, which manages the nuclear weapons stockpile. He also oversees the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which focuses on basic science research and development, operational support to U.S. warfighters and capabilities to anticipate and mitigate future threats.

Weber has overseen an expansion of Nunn-Lugar programs into the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. The program has supported the elimination of chemical weapons in Libya and Syria. He has also focused on reform of the nation's biodefense enterprise.

Prior to his appointment by President Barack Obama, Weber served for 13 years as an adviser for threat reduction policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He played a key role in Nunn-Lugar operations to remove weapons-grade uranium from Kazakhstan and Georgia, and nuclear-capable MiG-29 aircraft from Moldova. Weber developed and oversaw the Department of Defense Biological Threat Reduction Program.

Before joining the Department of Defense, Weber served as a U.S. foreign service officer, with diplomatic assignments in Saudi Arabia, Germany, Kazakhstan and Hong Kong. In addition to his Cornell bachelor’s degree in American studies, he holds a master’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University.

The talk is part of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies’ Foreign Policy Distinguished Speaker Series.