IWP student appointed Special Assistant to the President

IWP doctoral student Colonel Charles J. McLaughlin IV, U.S. Army Ret., was appointed to the position of Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European and Russian Affairs at the National Security Council this past June.

Since then, he has been working on a variety of issues, including coordination for the Hague NATO Summit and the associated allied defense commitments, efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, the peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, policy coordination for President Trump’s state visit to the UK, and foreign leader visits to the White House.

“We are delighted that Charles has been recruited for this position,” said Dr. John Lenczowski, IWP Founder, President Emeritus, and Chancellor. “He is a serious strategic thinker possessed of rare moral strategic clarity and diplomatic skill. He has also served our country in important ways in the past, and he continues that spirit of service in today’s White House.”

A U.S. Army veteran of over 30 years, Charles previously served as a Senior Advisor (SES) at the DoS Office of Policy Planning (2020-2021) and Director for Strategic Planning for the National Security Council (2018-2020). A 1986 graduate of West Point, he holds an MBA from MIT (2001), M.A. from Harvard in Russian and Eurasian Studies (1999), and Master of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College (2011). He has served as a Professor of Practice in Strategy, National Security Strategy, Defense Innovation, and Disruptive Technology at the National Defense University. He has also taught Grand Strategy at Hillsdale College’s Graduate School of Government and is a former West Point faculty member.

He is currently enrolled in our Doctor of Statecraft and National Security program. He has been especially interested in how political philosophy can, and should, inform grand strategy and statesmanship today.

Certain IWP faculty members have significant experience in Russian and European relations, and the position of Director of European and Soviet Affairs at the National Security Council was held from 1983-87 by Dr. John Lenczowski. His work there is part of what inspired him to found IWP.

We at IWP wish Colonel McLaughlin all the best in his work.