David Petraeus Biography and Photos

David Petraeus Biography and Photos

General David Howell Petraeus, USA (born November 7, 1952) is the 10th and current Commander, U.S. Central Command. Speaking at the change of command ceremony, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said of Petraeus: "He is the preeminent soldier-scholar-statesman of his generation and precisely the man we need in this command at this time."

He previously served as Commanding General, Multi-National Force - Iraq (MNF-I) from January 26, 2007 to September 16, 2008. As Commander of MNF-I, Petraeus oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq. Petraeus assumed his current assignment on October 31, 2008.

Petraeus was the General George C. Marshall Award winner as the top graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College—class of 1983. He subsequently earned a M.P.A. degree (1985) and a Ph.D. degree (1987) in International Relations from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He later served as Assistant Professor of International Relations at the U.S. Military Academy and also completed a fellowship at Georgetown University. He has a BS from the U.S. Military Academy—class of 1974—from which he graduated as a distinguished cadet (top 5% of his class).

A poll recently conducted by Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines selected Petraeus as one of the world's top 100 public intellectuals. And in April of this year, the Static Line Association named Petraeus as its 2008 Man of the Year. In 2007, Time named Petraeus one of the 100 most influential leaders and revolutionaries of the year as well as one of its four runners up for Time Person of the Year. He was also named the second most influential American conservative by The Daily Telegraph as well as The Daily Telegraph's 2007 Man of the Year and "America's most respected soldier" by Der Spiegel in 2008. In 2005, Petraeus was selected as one of America's top leaders by US News and World Report. Some news reports have speculated that Petraeus may have interest in running for the presidency. Despite these accounts, Petraeus has categorically stated that he has no political ambitions. Most recently, GQ Magazine (December 2008) named Petraeus as the "Leader of the Year: Right Man, Right Time" , Newsweek named him the 16th most powerful person in the world in its December 20, 2008 edition , and Prospect magazine named him the "Public Intellectual of the Year"

David Petraeus Biography and Photos