Senior Vice President for International Affairs

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

 

 

Leutenant General Daniel W. Christman is senior vice president for international affairs at the United States Chamber of Commerce. He is responsible for representing the Chamber before foreign business leaders and government officials and for providing strategic leadership on international issues affecting the business community. He oversees a team of dozens of policy analysts and program coordinators who are committed to global business engagement.

 

Before joining the Chamber, Christman served for two years as the president and executive director of the Kimsey Foundation, where he helped launch a program on political reform in China in coordination with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Christman, a career military officer who retired from active duty in 2001, served for five years as the superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also served for two years as assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during which time he traveled with and advised Secretary of State Warren Christopher. He was centrally involved during this period with negotiations between Israel and Syria as a member of the Secretary’s Middle East Peace Team. Further, Christman represented the United States as a member of NATO’s Military Committee in Brussels, Belgium.  He is a decorated combat veteran of Southeast Asia, where he commanded a company in the 101st Airborne Division in 1969.

 

Graduating first in his class from West Point, Christman also received master's degrees in public affairs and civil engineering from Princeton University and graduated with honors from The George Washington University Law School. On four occasions, Christman has been awarded the Army and Defense Distinguished Service Medal, which is the Defense Department’s highest peacetime award.