Quick Facts
Biography
Matthew Kroenig is an American professor, author, foreign policy adviser, and former government official. He is perhaps best known for his work in the Pentagon where he authored the first-ever U.S. government-wide strategy for deterring terrorism and developed strategic options for addressing Iran’s nuclear program, and for his scholarly research on nuclear weapons proliferation.
He is currently an Associate Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a Senior Fellow in the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council.
Education and personal life
Kroenig was raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He received his bachelor's degree in history summa cum laude from the University of Missouri, Columbia and his master's degree and Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University.
His brother, Brad, is a fashion model and his sister, Julie, was a broadcast anchor at ABC. His wife, Olivia, is a pharmaceutical sales representative and former NFL cheerleader for the Baltimore Ravens.
Career
Kroenig began his career as a military analyst in the Strategic Assessment Group at the Central Intelligence Agency. In 2005, he worked as a strategist in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he was the principal author of the first ever U.S.-government-wide strategy for deterring terrorist networks. From 2010 to 2011, Kroenig returned to the Pentagon to serve as a special advisor on Iran policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Kroenig served as a foreign policy advisor on Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and as a senior national security advisor on Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign.
He is currently an Associate Professor in Georgetown University's Department of Government and School of Foreign Service and a Senior Fellow in the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council.
Publications
Kroenig is an author, co-author, or co-editor of six books. These include: The Handbook of National Legislatures: A Global Survey; Exporting the Bomb: Technology Transfer and the Spread of Nuclear Weapons; The Causes and Consequences of Nuclear Proliferation; A Time to Attack: The Looming Iranian Nuclear Threat; Nuclear Posture and Nonproliferation Policy: Causes and Consequences for the Spread of Nuclear Weapons; and The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy.
He is also the author of dozens of articles on a wide range of issues in international relations and foreign policy, including: Europe, Asia, the Middle East, nuclear deterrence and nonproliferation, terrorism, soft power, and democracy.