Beers, Rand, 1942-

Rand Beers earned a B.A. from Dartmouth in 1964. He then served as a Marine Corps officer (1964-1968) and rifle company commander in Vietnam (1966-1968). He received his M.A. in Military History from the University of Michigan in 1970 and began a career in the Foreign and Civil Service.

He spent much of his career as a Department of State employee, including positions as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Regional Affairs in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, focusing on the Middle East and Persian Gulf (1992-1993) and as Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (1998-2002).

Rand also served on the National Security Council Staff under the previous five Presidents including as Director for Counter-terrorism and Counter-narcotics under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush (1988-1992), Director for Peacekeeping and later Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Intelligence Programs under President Bill Clinton (1993-1998), and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Combating Terrorism under President George W. Bush (2002-2003).

Rand was John Kerry’s national security advisor during the 2004 Presidential campaign and served as President of the National Security Network, a Washington DC-based foreign policy advocacy group he founded in 2005, until 2009. He also taught from 2004-2008 as an Adjunct Lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard on “How to Get Things Done in Government.” In 2008, the incoming Obama administration designated him Co-leader of their Department of Homeland Security Transition Team.

For four years, Rand served in the Department of Homeland Security as a counselor to Secretary Janet Napolitano and as the Department’s Undersecretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) from 2009 to 2013. NPPD collaborates with all levels of government, the private sector, non-government organizations, and international bodies to prevent, respond to, and mitigate physical and cyber threats to U.S. national security from acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and other catastrophic events. In 2013, he served as Acting Deputy Secretary from May to September and then as Acting Secretary of Homeland Security until Jeh Johnson assumed that office at the end of that year.

More recently, Rand served on the NSC Staff under his fifth President as the Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Deputy Homeland Security Adviser from January 2014 to March 2015, when he retired after 42 years of government service.

Rand currently serves as a member of the Board of Visitors for the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College and as a Board Member with the Middle East Institute. He also teaches a senior seminar on national security policy formulation and implementation at Dartmouth.

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts.
Rand Beers, Appointee for Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Rand Beers most recently served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor from 2014 to 2015. As a Senior Advisor at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Mr. Beers was Acting Secretary of Homeland Security from September to December 2013 and Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from May to September 2013. From 2009 to 2013, he was Under Secretary for National Protection Programs at DHS. Mr. Beers founded the National Security Network in 2006 and served as its President until 2008. Mr. Beers previously served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Combating Terrorism on the National Security Council staff from 2002 to 2003 and as Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the Department of State from 1998 to 2002. He served as a Foreign Service officer from 1971 until joining the civil service in 1983. Mr. Beers began his career as a Marine Corps officer in 1964. Mr. Beers received a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.A. from the University of Michigan.

Rand Beers (born November 30, 1942) is an American government official. He served as Deputy Homeland Security Advisor to the President of the United States during the Barack Obama administration. He also served as acting Secretary of Homeland Security following the resignation of Secretary Janet Napolitano on September 6, 2013 until Jeh Johnson assumed that office on December 23, 2013.
Born, November 30, 1942 (age 78).
Washington, D.C., U.S.

Rand Beers became the Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on September 6, 2013. Previously he served as Acting Deputy Secretary from May 2013 until September 2013. In June 2009, Beers was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the Under Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) at the DHS where he has led NPPD’s integrated efforts to reduce risks to physical, cyber and communications infrastructures. Throughout his service at DHS prior to becoming Acting Secretary, Beers was a trusted advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, providing invaluable counsel and guidance on a wide spectrum of homeland security issues, from counterterrorism efforts to cybersecurity.

During his tenure at DHS before becoming the Acting Secretary, Beers concurrently served as the Department’s Counterterrorism Coordinator, overseeing departmental operational and policy functions to prevent, respond to, and mitigate threats to U.S. national security from acts of terrorism. Before serving in DHS, he was the co-chair of the DHS Transition Team for the incoming Obama Administration.

Prior to the Obama Administration, Beers was the President of the National Security Network, a network of experts seeking to foster discussion of progressive national security ideas around the country, and an Adjunct Lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

Beers served on the National Security Council Staff under four Presidents as Director for Counter-terrorism and Counter-narcotics (1988-1992), Director for Peacekeeping (1993-1995), Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Intelligence Programs (1995-1998), and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Combating Terrorism (2002-2003). He resigned from the NSC Staff in March 2003 and retired from government service in April 2003. Following his departure, he served as national security advisor for the Kerry campaign (2003-2004).

Beers began his professional career as a Marine Corps officer and rifle company commander in Vietnam (1964-1968). He entered the Foreign Service in 1971 and transferred to the Civil Service in 1983. He served most of his career in the Department of State, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Regional Affairs in the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, focusing on the Middle East and Persian Gulf (1992-1993). He was Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (1998-2002).

Beers earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree from the University of Michigan.