Dr. Daniel Twining joined IRI as president in 2017, where he leads the Institute’s mission to advance democracy and freedom around the world. He heads IRI’s team of 750 global experts to link citizens and governments, motivate people to engage in the political process, and guide politicians and government officials to be responsive to citizens. IRI’s work to support competitive politics, good governance, civic engagement, youth empowerment, and women’s leadership encompasses 90 countries, with 60 overseas field offices. IRI is a core institute of the National Endowment for Democracy.
Previously, Dr. Twining served as counselor to the president and director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a thinktank and foundation dedicated to strengthening transatlantic relations. As counselor, he served on GMF’s executive leadership team; as director of the Asia Program, he led a team of scholars and analysts working on the rise of Asia and its implications for the West, with a particular focus on India, China, and Japan.
Dr. Twining’s government service encompasses three U.S. administrations and the U.S. Congress. From 2009-17, he served as an Associate of the National Intelligence Council focused on strategic forecasting in South and East Asia. During the George W. Bush administration, Twining served as a member of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s Policy Planning Staff, where he was responsible for South Asia. Earlier in the 2000s, he served as the foreign policy advisor to Senator John McCain, where he supported the Senator’s leadership on national security, trade, and democracy and human rights. During the Clinton administration, he served as a staff member in the General Counsel’s office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Dr. Twining has taught at Georgetown University and served as a military instructor associated with the Naval Postgraduate School. He serves on the Asia Advisory Board of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and on the Advisory Board of the Vandenberg Initiative. He holds a BA with highest distinction from the University of Virginia and MPhil & DPhil degrees from Oxford University, where he was the Fulbright/Oxford Scholar from 2004-07. He has been a columnist for Foreign Policy and Nikkei and lived overseas for 15 years in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe.
