Gary Edson is a former American government official, entrepreneur, and former president of

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Virginia, in Arlington County, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and co ...

. He served previously as chief executive officer of the

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund was a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded on January 16, 2010, by former US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, to aid the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The organization was formed in response t ...

, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that concluded operations in late 2012. From 2001 to 2004, Edson served in the administration of

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

Deputy National Security Advisor The United States Deputy National Security Advisor is a member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and the United States National Security Council, serving under the President's National Security Advisor (United States), N ...

and deputy assistant to the president for international economic affairs; he was also Deputy National Economic Advisor. In addition, he was the chief U.S. negotiator or “sherpa” for all presidential summits, including the G8,

APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy , economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Following the success of Association of Southeast Asia ...

, US-EU, and the Summits of the Americas. Edson co-led the development of the $45 billion

President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief The United States President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the global health funding by the United States to address the global HIV/AIDS Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS, epidemic and help save the lives of those suffering from the disease ...

, the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative. He is also credited with establishing the

Millennium Challenge Corporation The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID. It provides grants to countries tha ...

(MCC) to fight global poverty. The MCC uses increased aid to reward countries demonstrating a commitment to

good governance Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for t ...

. Edson left government in 2005 because of a serious illness, from which he has since recovered. He was a managing director at Stonebridge International, and for a time sat on the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. One observer described Edson as “brainy” and “impatient… a spicy jalapeno pepper in the midst of the smooth cream cheese” of the White House. Former secretary of state James A. Baker has called him “indispensable,” noting, "I've never known anybody from whom the taxpayers get a better deal." In her 2011 memoir, former secretary of state

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...

praises Edson as being "one of the best 'policy engineers' I'd ever known, one of those rare individuals who can take an idea from inception to implementation." In 2020, Edson, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that

President Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. ...

was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."

Early career

Earlier in his career, Edson served as chief of staff and general counsel to U.S. Trade Representative Carla A. Hills from 1989 to 1992, and special assistant to Deputy Secretary of State Kenneth W. Dam from 1982 to 1985. He headed a

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

firm, ECG, Inc., which acquired PAR Systems, Inc, a manufacturer of robotics systems, of which Edson was chairman of the board.

Education

Edson received a B.A. with honors in anthropology from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1977, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from The

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1982. He was a

Henry Luce Scholar A Luce Scholar is a recipient of a cultural exchange and vocational fellowship sponsored by the Henry Luce Foundation, a private foundation established by Time, Inc. founder Henry R. Luce. The program Founded in 1974, The Luce Scholars Progra ...

in Japan, 1977–1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edson, Gary Year of birth missing (living people) United States presidential advisors George W. Bush administration personnel Living people Stanford University alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni