Desson Patrick Thomson is a former

speechwriter A speechwriter is a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches that will be delivered by another person. Speechwriters are employed by many senior-level elected officials and executives in the government and private sectors. They can also b ...

for the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

and former

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...

for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

''. He was known as Desson Howe until 2003 when he changed his name after reuniting with his birth father.

Biography

Thomson attended

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was cha ...

from 1975 until 1979, graduating in Spring 1980 with a degree in visual communications and

cinema studies Film theory is a set of scholarly approaches within the academic discipline of film or cinema studies that began in the 1920s by questioning the formal essential attributes of motion pictures; and that now provides conceptual frameworks for un ...

. He started working for ''

'' in 1983 as a copy aide for the Style section, and by 1984 was writing

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance ...

articles for the paper. In 1987 he became a film critic for the paper. He wrote one of the few negative reviews of multiple

Academy award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominated movie ''

The Shawshank Redemption ''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), w ...

.'' In his review of ''

Groundhog Day Groundhog Day ( pdc, Grund'sau dåk, , , ; Nova Scotia: Daks Day) is a popular North American tradition observed in the United States and Canada on February 2. It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges fr ...

'', he infamously stated that the film "will never be designated a national film treasure by the Library of Congress." Thirteen years later, the film would be inducted into the Library of Congress. Thomson left the ''Washington Post'' in 2008, and in 2010 became a speechwriter in the administration of President Barack Obama. From February 2010 until November 2010 he was stationed in London working for the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Louis Susman. In December 2010, he joined the Policy Planning Office of the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

as a speechwriter for Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

. In February 2012, he became a speechwriter and Senior Advisor for Content Development for the

Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs The Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs is currently a top-10 ranking position in the U.S. Department of State that is intended to help ensure that public diplomacy is practiced in combination with Public administration, public ...

. Until September 2017 he was a speechwriter and senior advisor for Charles H. Rivkin,

Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs The Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs is an office in the United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal governme ...

References

The Washington Post people American University School of Communication alumni American film critics Living people 1958 births 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers American male journalists American speechwriters People from Surrey English emigrants to the United States {{US-journalist-1950s-stub