Senator Fred Thompson (Former Chairman)

Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation
International Security Advisory Board
July 2007

Senator Fred Thompson served as chairman of the International Security Advisory Board at the United States Department of State September 2005 -- July 2007. Senator Thompson also is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission and a visiting fellow with the American Enterprise Institute.

Senator Thompson was elected to the United States Senate in 1994 where he served as Chairman of the Committee on Governmental Affairs from 1997 until 2002. He also served on the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He chose not to run for re-election in 2002.

Prior to his election, Senator Thompson maintained law offices in Nashville and Washington. Earlier in his career, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Tennessee. In 1973, he was appointed by Senator Howard Baker to serve as Minority Counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee where Senator Thompson first gained national attention. He detailed his Watergate experience in his Watergate memoir, At That Point in Time. In 1974, after the Watergate hearings concluded, Senator Thompson returned to the practice of law.

Senator Thompson first appeared on screen in the film "Marie" in 1985, portraying himself in the fact-based story of a high-profile public corruption case he handled in Tennessee. Since then, he has appeared in numerous movies and television programs, including the features "In the Line of Fire," "Die Hard II," and "The Hunt for Red October.," and the television series "China Beach," "Wiseguy," and "Matlock." He is a regular on the long-running TV drama, "Law & Order," and is a Special Program Host and Senior Analyst for ABC News Radio.

Senator Thompson attended Memphis State University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy and political science. He received his law degree from Vanderbilt University.