NBR Director and Former Joint Chiefs Chairman John Shalikashvili Honored with Chair in National Security Studies

On April 5, 2006, at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C., NBR recognized board member General John M. Shalikashvili for his lifelong contributions to our nation and dedicated a chair in national security studies in his name. “Shali” served the United States in a 39-year military career that culminated in his appointment as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer. He has been a director at NBR and a Senior Advisor to its Strategic Asia program since his retirement from the military in 1997.

The John M. Shalikashvili Chair in National Security Studies was dedicated with a private forum on strategic issues followed by a black-tie gala. The forum, an off-the-record event with non-attribution rules in force, was attended by more than 80 guests in addition to the panelists. Then-Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick spoke in the morning session and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley addressed the audience at lunch. The gala, which drew over 500 guests, featured personal accounts from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley about General Shalikashvili’s career and legacy.

“Shali has added such enormous value to his country,” said George Russell, Chairman of NBR’s Board of Directors and Co-Chairman of the campaign to establish the Chair. “He is one of the most competent people I’ve met in 48 years of business. Shali’s extraordinary leadership on the board has greatly strengthened the national security focus at NBR. He recognized early on that U.S. national security decisionmakers benefit enormously from having the assessments of the best civilian minds in the world.”

The mission of the Shalikashvili Chair, like that of NBR, emphasizes bipartisanship in the best tradition of Senator Henry M. Jackson. Former Secretary of Defense Dr. William Perry and Mr. George Russell led the initiative to endow the Chair, with help from Ambassador Tom Pickering, Dr. John White, Admiral Bill Owens, Congressman Norm Dicks, and Dr. Ashton Carter. A bipartisan Honorary Committee supported their efforts. Members included, among others: Former President Bill Clinton; former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell; and Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE), John Kerry (D-MA), Jim Leach (R-IA), Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Ted Stevens (R-AK), and John Warner (R-VA).