Puneet Talwar

Puneet Talwar is an American diplomat who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs from 2014 to November 2015. Talwar served as a top Middle East advisor to Barack Obama and played a central role in the backchannel diplomacy that produced the Iran nuclear deal. Prior to working in the White House, he was a top advisor to then-Senator Joe Biden on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for twelve years.

Education

Talwar earned a Bachelor's of Science Degree from Cornell University and a Master's of International Affairs from Columbia University.

Career

From 1995 to 1999 and 2001-2008, Talwar served as the Chief Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia Advisor to Joe Biden on the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Talwar then worked on the Policy Planning Staff of the United States Department of State from 1999 to 2001. Talwar was foreign policy advisor for the United States House of Representatives, and served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Iraq, Iran, and the Gulf States on the National Security Council from 2009 to 2014. In 2012, Foreign Policy Magazine named Talwar as one of the 50 most powerful Democrats in foreign policy.

In 2014, Talwar was nominated by Barack Obama to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs. He left office in 2015, and was eventually replaced by R. Clarke Cooper in 2019.

Since leaving government service, Talwar has served as Chairman and President of Crest International, a private cybersecurity and intelligence firm. He is also a Senior Advisor at WestExec Advisors, a strategic advisory firm founded by former Obama Admininstration officials, Michèle Flournoy and Tony Blinken.