Damon M. Wilson (born May 24, 1973) is an American foreign policy expert and the President and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy,[1][2] an independent grant-making foundation supporting freedom and democracy around the world. From 2011 to 2021, he was the Executive Vice President at the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan think tank focused on international cooperation.[3] A former civil servant, Wilson served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council during the second term of President George W. Bush.[4][5]
Wilson was born in Nashville, Tennessee and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. He attended Duke University as a Benjamin N. Duke Scholar and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1995. While at Duke, he lived in Estonia during its first year of regained independence, interned for US Senator Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, and worked for the Unaccompanied Children in Exile Project in Croatia. Following graduation, Wilson was awarded the inaugural Hart Leadership Fellowship, working as a project officer in Rwanda with Save the Children from 1995 to 1996.[15][16][17] During the fellowship, Wilson supported programming to assist children who lost or were separated from their parents in the wake of the Rwandan genocide.[18]
For over twenty years, Wilson has helped shape U.S. strategy and national security policy in regards to NATO and US-European relations to advance freedom and security around the world. He is an advocate for strengthening democratic alliances to address security challenges, believing “US interests are best served when Washington and its allies act in unison.”[21] Wilson views authoritarian Russia and China as “the main geopolitical challenge of the 21st century,” and that “there is no possible successful strategy to confront Putin’s aggression without a strong NATO.”[22][23]
From January 2004 to November 2006, as Director for Central, Eastern and Northern European Affairs at the National Security Council, Wilson coordinated U.S. interagency policy on Ukraine during the Orange Revolution, directed efforts to deepen engagement in Central and Eastern Europe, including the expansion of secure visa-free travel, and promoted close consultation with coalition partners in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also played a leading role in implementing the Belarus Democracy Act.[27] In 2007, Wilson served as the executive secretary and chief of staff at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, where he helped to manage the largest embassy in the world and implement a ‘civilian surge’ throughout Iraq. From December 2007 to January 2009, as Senior Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, Wilson led U.S. government efforts to advance a Europe whole, free and at peace. He notably managed interagency policy on NATO, the European Union, Georgia, Ukraine, the Balkans, Eurasian energy security and Turkey, and helped plan numerous presidential visits to Europe, including the Bucharest NATO Summit and the 2008 US-EU Summit.[28]
From 2009 to 2011, Wilson directed the International Security program at the Atlantic Council think tank,[29] transforming it into the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.[30] In 2011, he was promoted to the role of Executive Vice President.[31] At the Atlantic Council, Wilson championed American leadership,[32] a strong NATO,[33] continued NATO enlargement,[34][35] support for democratic reforms in Ukraine and the Balkans, positioning US and NATO forces in the Baltic states,[36][37] and efforts to counter authoritarian powers Russia and China.[38] He also defended global LGBT rights, hosting global leaders for Pride and launching several diversity and inclusion programs within the organization.[39][40] During his tenure, he helped launch the Millennium Leadership Program,[41] the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East,[42] the Europe Center,[43] the Balkans Forward Initiative,[44] and the Digital Forensic Research Lab.[45]
Wilson currently serves on the board of the Truman Center for National Policy,[56] is a Trustee of the Belarus Free Theatre,[57] and is a member of the Ohrid Group[58] and the International Advisory Council at GLOBSEC.[59]
Personal life
Wilson lives with his husband in Washington, D.C. and part-time in Charleston, SC. His mother, Mary Thornley, is President of Trident Technical College in Charleston, SC.[60]