Nicholas J. Rasmussen was the director of the

National Counterterrorism Center The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) is a United States government organization responsible for national and international counterterrorism efforts. It is based in Liberty Crossing, a modern complex near Tysons Corner in McLean, Virgin ...

(NCTC), a United States government organization. He was sworn in on December 18, 2014 and was replaced by

Russell Travers Russell E. Travers is an American national security official who served as the deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). Travers first took the role on November 13, 2017, and later became acting director. He resumed his dut ...

on December 24, 2017.

Biography

Rasmussen received a B.A. degree with high honors from the College of Social Studies at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the c ...

and was awarded a master in public and international affairs from the

Woodrow Wilson School The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

. He joined the Department of State in 1991 as a presidential management intern in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and for more than a decade served in a variety of key positions. He worked as a foreign affairs analyst in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs from 1991 to 1994 focusing on

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

security issues following

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

, including negotiations for U.S. forces' access and basing in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the no ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

, the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

, and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

. From 1994 to 1996 he was a special assistant to Ambassador-at-Large

Robert Gallucci Robert L. Gallucci (born February 11, 1946) is an American academic and diplomat, who formerly worked as president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He previously served as dean of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Servic ...

, providing analysis of the negotiation and implementation of the

U.S.-North Korea Agreed Framework The Agreed Framework between the United States of America and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (북미제네바기본합의서) was signed on 21 October 1994, between North Korea (DPRK) and the United States. The objective of the agreeme ...

. Rasmussen was special assistant to the State Department's special Middle East coordinator, Ambassador

Dennis Ross Dennis B. Ross (born November 26, 1948) is an American diplomat and author. He has served as the Director of Policy Planning in the State Department under President George H. W. Bush, the special Middle East coordinator under President Bill C ...

, from 1996 to 2001, providing support to the Arab-Israeli peace process. From 2001 to 2004, he served on the NSC staff as director for regional affairs in the Office of Combating Terrorism where he focused on Middle East, Southeast Asia, and related

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

issues in the period after September 11, 2001. From 2004 to 2007, Rasmussen served at the NCTC in senior policy and planning positions responsible for producing net assessments of U.S. counterterrorism policy and strategy for the

U.S. National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and Foreign relations of the United States, foreign policy matters. Based in t ...

(NSC) and the president. He served beginning in October 2007 with the National Security Council staff as special assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism, where he was responsible for providing staff support to the president, the

national security advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National secu ...

and homeland security advisor on counterterrorism policy and strategy. Rasmussen served as deputy director of the

(NCTC) starting in June 2012 and was sworn in as its director on December 18, 2014, upon his confirmation by the United States Senate. The ''New'' ''York'' ''Times'' reported on November 15, 2017, that Rasmussen would step down as director in December 2017 and had "not decided what to do next." In October 2020, Rasmussen signed a letter stating that the Biden laptop story “has the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal in 2017, the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award in 2016, an International Affairs Fellowship from the Council on Foreign Relations, and has taught a course on U.S. counterterrorism policy at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

References

External links

* Living people Trump administration personnel Obama administration personnel Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-gov-bio-stub