Lute, Douglas Edward, 1952-

<p>Ambassador Douglas Lute is the former United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s standing political body. Appointed by President Obama, he assumed the Brussels-based post in 2013 and served until 2017. During this period he was instrumental in designing and implementing the 28-nation Alliance’s responses to the most severe security challenges in Europe since the end of the Cold War. He received the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award.</p>

<p>A career Army officer, in 2010 Lute retired from active duty as a lieutenant general after 35 years of service. In 2007 President Bush named him as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor to coordinate the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2009 he was the senior White House official retained by President Obama and his focus on the National Security Council staff shifted to South Asia. Across these two Administrations, he served a total of six years in the White House.</p>

<p>Before being assigned to the White House, General Lute served as Director of Operations (J3) on the Joint Staff, overseeing U.S. military operations worldwide. From 2004 to 2006, he was Director of Operations for the United States Central Command, with responsibility for U.S. military operations in 25 countries across the Middle East, eastern Africa and Central Asia, in which over 200,000 U.S. troops operated.</p>

<p>In earlier assignments he served as Deputy Director of Operations for the United States European Command in Stuttgart, Germany; Assistant Division Commander in the 1st Infantry Division in Germany; Commander of U.S. Forces in Kosovo; and Commander of the Second Cavalry Regiment. Through his military career, he received numerous honors and awards, including three awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal.</p>

<p>General Lute holds degrees from the United States Military Academy at West Point and from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a charter member of the Flag Officer Advisory Group of the United States Institute of Peace.</p>

<p>Lt. Gen. Douglas Edward Lute (born November 3, 1952) is a U.S. public servant who served as the United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2013 to 2017. He was nominated for the post by President Obama on May 23, 2013, and assumed his position on September 3, 2013.</p>

<p>Lute is a retired United States Army lieutenant general.</p>

<p>On May 15, 2007, Lute was appointed by George W. Bush to serve as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan. The New York Times referred to him as the "War Czar", since he occupied a senior advisory position responsible for overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was asked to stay on by new President Barack Obama as Obama's Special Assistant and Senior Coordinator for Afghanistan and Pakistan. After leaving active duty in 2010, Lute remained in his position at the National Security Staff. He is married to Jane Holl Lute, who was the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2009 to 2013.</p>

<p>Lute was born in Michigan City, Indiana, on November 3, 1952. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1975. His first assignment was to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Bindlach, Germany, where he commanded C Troop. He earned a MPA degree from the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University in 1983 and taught in the Department of Social Science at West Point.</p>

<p>Following attendance at the British Army Staff College, he returned to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment as operations officer, serving both at the squadron and regimental levels. In 1990–91 he deployed and fought with the regiment in Operation Desert Storm, and later served on the staff of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army.</p>

<p>Lute commanded 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry at Fort Hood, Texas, in 1992–94. He then served on the Joint Staff in the J-5 Directorate for Strategic Plans and Policy, and held a War College Fellowship at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.</p>

<p>From 1998 to 2000 he commanded the Second Cavalry Regiment, part of XVIII Airborne Corps, at Fort Polk, Louisiana. In 2001, he was appointed brigadier general. He served next as the executive assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for 14 months before joining the 1st Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany, as the Assistant Division Commander (Support). He commanded Multinational Brigade East in Kosovo for six months in 2002 before being assigned to United States European Command in January 2003 as the Deputy Director of Operations.</p>

<p>In June 2004, Lute began more than two years as Director of Operations (J-3) at United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), during which he oversaw combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as other operations in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa. He was appointed to the rank of major general in 2004, and to the rank of lieutenant general in 2006. He assumed the duties of Director of Operations, the Joint Staff, in September 2006.</p>

<p>On June 28, 2007, the Senate confirmed Lute to serve as the Deputy National Security Advisor. He remained in the position after his retirement from active duty in 2010.</p>

On 10 August 2007, Lute stated that the United States should "consider" reinstating the military draft to relieve the "stressed" volunteer service from multiple tours of duty. This was immediately followed by a comment that it would be a major policy shift and that he did not see a current need for a draft.</p>