Peter Beshar Explained

Peter Beshar
Office:	General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force
Term Start:	March 18, 2022^[1]
President:	Joe Biden
1Blankname:	Secretary
1Namedata:	Frank Kendall III
Predecessor:	Thomas E. Ayres
Education:	Yale University (BA) Harvard University (JD)
Children:	3

Peter Justus Beshar^[2] is an American attorney who has served as general counsel of the Department of the Air Force since March 18, 2022. Beshar has previously worked in various roles at Marsh McLennan for 17 years.

Education

Beshar earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1984 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1989.^{[3] [4]}

Career

Beshar served as a law clerk for Judge Vincent L. Broderick. In 1992 and 1993, Beshar worked as an advisor to Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. He later served as assistant attorney general of New York, where he managed the New York State Attorney General's Task Force on Illegal Firearms. From 1995 to 2004, he worked at Gibson Dunn as co-chair of the firm's Securities Litigation Group. Beshar joined Marsh McLennan in 2004 and has since worked as executive vice president and general counsel of the company. Beshar was appointed to the board of trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars by President Barack Obama in 2015.^{[5] [6]}

Beshar has written op-ed columns on cyberwarfare and cybercrime policy for The Washington Post, The New York Times, Fortune, Fast Company, and U.S. News & World Report.^[7]

Air Force nomination

On October 19, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Beshar to be the next general counsel of the air force. The Senate Armed Services Committee held hearings on his nomination on February 15, 2022. The committee favorably reported his nomination to the Senate floor on March 8, 2022. The entire Senate confirmed Beshar's nomination on March 10, 2022, by voice vote.^[8]

Personal life

Beshar married Sarah Elizabeth Eggleston Jones, also a lawyer, in 1995.^[9] They have three children and live in Rye, New York.^[10] He is the son of Christine Beshar, who was named partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in 1971, making her the first woman to do so, and becoming one of the first women to be named partner in any Wall Street law firm.^[11]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Beshar swears in as Department of the Air Force general counsel. 2022-03-18. 2022-03-19. Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs. Washington, D.C.. Hill Air Force Base.
2. Web site: Peter Justus Beshar .
3. Web site: Wyman. Oliver. Peter J. Beshar. 2021-10-19. www.mmc.com. en.
4. Book: Staff. Aspen Editorial. Directory of Corporate Counsel: 2015 -2016 Edition. Business. Wolters Kluwer Law &. 2015-07-23. Wolters Kluwer. 978-1-4548-5653-5. en.
5. Web site: Peter J. Beshar, Earl Stafford Nominated to Wilson Center Board of Trustees Wilson Center. 2021-10-19. www.wilsoncenter.org. en.
6. Web site: 2021-10-19. President Biden Announces Key Nominations. 2021-10-19. The White House. en-US.
7. Web site: Articles by Peter J. Beshar The New York Times, The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report Journalist Muck Rack. 2021-10-19. muckrack.com. en.
8. Web site: PN1287 — Peter J. Beshar — Department of Defense 117th Congress (2021-2022) . US Congress . 10 March 2022 . 19 March 2022.
9. News: 1991-01-06. Sarah E. E. Jones and Peter Beshar, Lawyers, Are Married in Australia. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-10-19. 0362-4331.
10. Web site: Peter Beshar, Board Member of CARE USA. 2021-10-19. CARE. en.
11. News: Christine Beshar, Trailblazing Lawyer, Dies at 88. The New York Times . 19 January 2018 . 2022-02-25. en. Roberts . Sam .