Lee Hamilton
Former Member of Congress
Director, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Lee H. Hamilton became director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in January, 1999. Previously, Hamilton served for thirty-four years as a United States Congressman from Indiana.

During his tenure, Hamilton served as chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (now the Committee on International Relations) and chaired the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East from the early 1970s until 1993.

Hamilton was chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran, and the October Surprise Task Force. Also a leading figure on economic policy and congressional organization, he served as chair of the Joint Economic Committee as well as the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress, and was a member of the House Standards of Official Conduct Committee.

Hamilton remains an important and active voice on matters of international relations and foreign affairs. He served as a commissioner on the United States Commission on National Security in the 21st Century (the Hart-Rudman Commission), co-chair of the Baker-Hamilton Commission to Investigate Certain Security Issues at Los Alamos, commissioner of the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform, and vice-chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9-11 Commission). He is currently a member of the advisory council for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, co-chairman of the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future, and of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.

Hamilton's distinguished service in government has been honored through numerous awards in public service and human rights. He has received over 15 honorary degrees from academic institutions across the United States. Hamilton is a graduate of DePauw University and Indiana University law school, and studied for a year at Goethe University in Germany. Before his election to Congress, he practiced law in Chicago and Columbus, Indiana.

Hamilton's topic is A Balanced View of American Power: How to Combat the Threats of the 21st Century. The event takes place on Wednesday, November 14 at 7:30 pm in Parrish Auditorium on the Miami Hamilton campus. The lecture is free and open to the public, although tickets are required. (Call 513.785.3020.)