Philip Zelikow

Philip Zelikow is the White Burkett Miller Professor of History and Wilson Newman Professor of Governance at the Miller Center, both at the University of Virginia. There he has also served as dean of the Graduate School and director of the Miller Center of Public Affairs. His scholarly work, first at Harvard, later at Virginia, focuses on critical episodes in American and world history.

Before and during his academic career he has served at all levels of American government – federal, state, and local, including as an elected member of his town’s school board. His full-time federal service began as a teacher for the Navy and then as a career foreign service officer, including work on the NSC Staff for the elder President Bush. His last full-time government service was as Counselor of the State Department, a deputy to Secretary Condoleezza Rice.

In 2001, after the Florida problems, he directed the Carter-Ford commission on election reform that led to the Help America Vote Act of 2002. In 2003-04, he directed the 9/11 Commission. A former member of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board in two administrations (2001-03 and 2011-13), he was also a member of the Defense Policy Board (2015-17).