William H. Tobey Named Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

William H. Tobey, deputy administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) from 2006 to 2009 and a Harvard Kennedy School graduate (MPP ‘84), will start February 2^nd as a senior fellow at the Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, where he will work with the Center’s nuclear team.

In his position as deputy administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at NNSA, Tobey led a team of 400 employees, and worked with more than 100 countries to prevent nuclear proliferation and terrorism by detecting, securing, and disposing of dangerous nuclear materials. He managed NNSA’s $2 billion comprehensive nonproliferation and threat reduction programs to secure nuclear and radiological materials, prevent the smuggling of nuclear material across borders and through seaports, halt the flow of nuclear expertise and technology to terrorist organizations or rogue states, and eliminate inventories of surplus nuclear material. Tobey also was responsible for overseeing policy formulation and implementation governing U.S. export controls on nuclear material and technology. 

At the Belfer Center, Tobey will work on an initiative to reduce the dangers posed by the current unraveling of the global nuclear order. Along with Belfer Center Director Graham Allison, Professor Ashton Carter, Associate Professor Matthew Bunn, International Security Program Director Steven Miller, and his former Department of Energy colleague Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Tobey will help advance work begun by a Commission of Eminent Persons (launched earlier this year by International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei) to find ways to maximize contributions of nuclear technologies to human well-being while minimizing the risks of nuclear weapon proliferation and nuclear terrorist attacks.

Tobey’s efforts at the Center will include a series of memos addressing the challenges of preventing nuclear terrorism and proliferation and describing what has worked, the obstacles encountered, and thoughts about ways to overcome these challenges. He plans also to write a book on nuclear material security. 

In announcing Tobey’s appointment, Allison said, “William Tobey has focused much of his career on preventing nuclear proliferation and terrorism, and we are extremely pleased to have him continue that work with our nuclear team. His experience on nuclear policy issues with countries around the globe – including Iran, North Korea and Libya – will be invaluable to the Center's continuing efforts on counterproliferation and the prevention of nuclear terrorism. We look forward to his many contributions to the Center."

“I am very pleased to return to the Kennedy School and take part in the school’s active pursuit of excellence in public policy,” Tobey said. “I look forward to working with the Belfer Center to continue my work on issues related to countering nuclear terrorism and proliferation."

Prior to Tobey’s service with the Department of Energy, he was director of counterproliferation strategy at the National Security Council (NSC) where he oversaw development and implementation of U.S. policy on nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, was a delegate to the Six Party Talks with North Korea, managed U.S. efforts to dismantle Libya’s weapons of mass destruction programs, and authored United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 which criminalizes non-state proliferation and obligates all states to establish and maintain effective safeguards, security, and export controls. Tobey previously participated in a variety of international negotiations, including the Nuclear and Space Talks with the Soviet Union and the U.S.-Russia Space Cooperation Agreement.

In a speech made in December 2008, Tobey noted that within the nonproliferation mission of the United States, “one objective of utmost priority is strengthening international capacities to help prevent nuclear terrorism on U.S. soil.  This objective requires an international approach. Our national security rests upon the ability of our international colleagues to recognize and respond to illicit trafficking of nuclear materials.”

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is the hub of research, teaching, and training in international security affairs, environmental and resource issues, science and technology policy, and conflict studies at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Center’s mission is to provide leadership in advancing policy-relevant knowledge about the most important challenges of international security and other critical issues where science, technology, environmental policy and international affairs intersect.

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Contact: Sharon Wilke 617.495.9858 sharon_wilke@harvard.edu

Sasha Talcott: 617.495.7831 sasha_talcott@harvard.edu