John Negroponte is currently the James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. Prior to this, Negroponte was the first director of national intelligence under President George W. Bush and later served as deputy secretary of state, where he was the State Department’s chief operating officer. He has been ambassador to Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations, and Iraq. In Washington, he served twice on the National Security Council staff, first as director for Vietnam in the Nixon Administration and then as deputy national security advisor under President Ronald Reagan. Negroponte is the vice chairman of McLarty Associates in Washington, DC. He serves as chairman emeritus of the Council of the Americas/Americas Society. He is co-chairman of the U.S.-Philippines Society and a past member of the secretary of state’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board. He has also served as chairman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance. Negroponte has received numerous awards, including the State Department’s Distinguished Service Medal on two separate occasions, the highest award that can be conferred by the Secretary of State. In January 2009, President Bush awarded Negroponte the National Security Medal for his outstanding contributions to U.S. national security.