Richard A. Falkenrath Jr. (born March 25, 1969) served as deputy commissioner of counter-terrorism of the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

from 2006 to 2010. He was the third person to hold this position. His predecessors were

Frank Libutti Frank Libutti is a retired United States Marine Corps Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General who also served as the head of the New York City Police Department's Counter Terrorism Bureau, Deputy New York City Police Commissioner, ...

and

Michael A. Sheehan Michael A. Sheehan (February 10, 1955 – July 30, 2018) was an American author and former government official and military officer. He was a Distinguished Chair at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York and a terrorist analyst for NB ...

Education

Falkenrath is a ''summa cum laude'' graduate of

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...

, with degrees in economics and international relations. He holds a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the department of war studies at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, where he was a

Marshall Scholar The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is considered among the most prestigious scholarshi ...

Academic career

From September 1993 until December 2000, Falkenrath worked at the

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

, first as a postdoctoral research fellow at the

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs The Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, also known as the Belfer Center, is a research center located at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. From 2 ...

; then as Executive Director of the Center; and finally as Assistant Professor of Public Policy. Additionally, during this time he was founder and co-principal investigator of the Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness; a member of the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (the "

Gilmore Commission Gilmore Commission is the informal and commonly used name for the U.S. Congressional Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the At ...

"); a member of the board of visitors of the National Emergency Management Institute; a member of the

Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1946 to 2004, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Se ...

's Nonproliferation Advisory Panel; a visiting research fellow at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik; and a consultant to the

Defense Science Board The Defense Science Board (DSB) is a committee of civilian experts appointed to advise the U.S. Department of Defense on scientific and technical matters. It was established in 1956 on the second Hoover Commission's recommendation. Charter The B ...

and the

RAND The RAND Corporation, doing business as RAND, is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. RAND engages in research and development (R&D) in several fields and industries. Since the ...

Corporation.

White House

In December 2000, Falkenrath joined the Bush-Cheney presidential transition team, where he was involved in preparing for the presidential transition within the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

. Immediately after the January 2001

presidential inauguration A presidential inauguration is a ceremonial event centered on the formal transition of a new president into office, usually in democracies where this official has been elected. Frequently, this involves the swearing of an oath of office. Examples o ...

, Falkenrath joined the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

staff, serving until May 2004. His initial position was director for proliferation strategy on the National Security Council staff, where he was responsible for

biological weapons Biological agents, also known as biological weapons or bioweapons, are pathogens used as weapons. In addition to these living or replicating pathogens, toxins and biotoxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,200 different kin ...

proliferation and preparedness,

missile defense Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear weapon, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic mi ...

, and Asian proliferation issues. After the

terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Hijackers in the September 11 attacks#Hijackers, Nineteen terrorists hijacked four com ...

, Falkenrath was named Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Policy and Plans within the

Office of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions involv ...

. In January 2003, he was promoted to Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor. In these capacities, he was responsible for developing and coordinating all aspects of U.S.

homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

policy and law, as well as

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and Intelligence agency, intelligence ...

threat assessment Threat assessment is the practice of determining the credibility and seriousness of a potential threat, as well as the probability that the threat will become a reality. Threat assessment is separate to the more established practice of violence-r ...

and response at all levels. He was the principal author of the

National Strategy for Homeland Security The United States National Strategy for Homeland Security (NSHS) is a formal government response to the events of September 11, 2001 at the Pentagon and World Trade Center. The document issued by President George W. Bush outlines the overall stra ...

and was centrally involved in the stand-up of the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

, the

Terrorist Threat Integration 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 in McLean, Virginia. The NCTC advises the United States ...

(the predecessor to today's

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 in McLean, Virginia. The NCTC advises the United States ...

), and the FBI's

Terrorist Screening Center The Threat Screening Center (formerly Terrorist Screening Center) or the TSC, is a division of the National Security Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is the duty of the TSC to identify suspected or potential terrorists. Though ...

. After leaving the White House, Falkenrath became the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Senior Fellow at

The Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global eco ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He was also an advisor and spokesman for Bush-Cheney 2004 reelection campaign and a security analyst at

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

NYPD

At the NYPD, Falkenrath has criticized the federal government for reducing homeland security funding for New York City's subways.

Bibliography

* Prepared Statement before the Committee on Homeland Security,

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, March 6, 2007 * "Right Call on Phone Records", ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', May 13, 2006 * "Privacy Fiasco that Needlessly Undermines Security", ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', May 31, 2006
"Europe's Dangerous Complacency"
''

''. July 7, 2004 * ''America's Achilles' Heel: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Terrorism and Covert Attack''; coauthored with Robert Newman and Bradley Thayer (MIT Press, 1998) * ''Avoiding Nuclear Anarchy: Containing the Threat of Loose Russian Nuclear Weapons and Fissile Material'', coauthored with Graham T. Allison, Owen R. Cote, and Steven E. Miller (The MIT Press, 1996)
"Grading the War on Terrorism"
''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

'', January/February 2006 * "The

9/11 Commission The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, to investigate all aspects of the September 11 attacks, the deadliest terrorist attack in world history ...

Review Report: A Review Essay", ''International Security'', Winter 2004 * "Problems of Preparedness", ''International Security'', Spring 2001 * "Confronting Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Terrorism", ''Survival'', Autumn 1998

Family

Falkenrath was raised in

Mendocino, California Mendocino (Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza") is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California, United States. The name comes from Cape Mendocino to the north, named b ...

, and currently resides in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

with his wife and two children.

Affiliations

He is a member of th
Aspen Strategy Group
In 2020, Falkenrath, 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."

References

External links

Official biodata at NYPD Web SiteWilliam Finnegan, 'The Terrorism Beat: How is the N.Y.P.D. defending the city?"
''The New Yorker'', July 25, 2005 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Falkenrath, Richard A. 1969 births Alumni of King's College London New York City deputy police commissioners Harvard Kennedy School faculty Living people Occidental College alumni People from Mendocino, California Place of birth missing (living people) Marshall Scholars New York (state) Republicans