Timothy Naftali
Encyclopedia
Timothy Naftali is the director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, a post he assumed in 2007 when control of the library was transferred from the Richard Nixon Foundation to the National Archives and Records Administration
. His biggest task at the library was to present a more objective and unbiased picture of the Watergate scandal—a task completed in March, 2011, when the Library's new Watergate gallery opened and received extensive news coverage.
Previously Naftali's area of focus was the history of counterterrorism and the Cold War
. Before taking the Nixon Library position, Naftali had been an associate professor at the University of Virginia
, where he directed the Miller Center of Public Affairs
' Presidential Recordings Program. In the 1990s he taught at the University of Hawaii and Yale. He has written four books, two of them co-authored with Alexander Fursenko on the Cuban Missile Crisis
and Nikita Khrushchev
.
Naftali was born in Montreal and at one point worked as an aide to Robert Bourassa
. In 2007 he told the Toronto Star
that he left Canada for the US in response to Quebec's language laws: "It seemed to me that the deck was stacked against civil liberties and I preferred to be in a country where I didn't have to worry about what language I spoke." He has an undergraduate degree from Yale and graduate degrees from Johns Hopkins and Harvard. Naftali is gay.
He served as a consultant to the 9/11 Commission
, which commissioned him to write an unclassified history of American counterterrorism policy; this was later expanded into his well-received 2005 book Blind Spot: The Secret History of American Counterterrorism.
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives...
. His biggest task at the library was to present a more objective and unbiased picture of the Watergate scandal—a task completed in March, 2011, when the Library's new Watergate gallery opened and received extensive news coverage.
Previously Naftali's area of focus was the history of counterterrorism and the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Before taking the Nixon Library position, Naftali had been an associate professor at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, where he directed the Miller Center of Public Affairs
Miller Center of Public Affairs
The Miller Center of Public Affairs is a non-partisan research institute that is part of the University of Virginia.Founded in 1975, the Miller Center is a leading public policy institution that serves as a national meeting place where engaged citizens, scholars, students, media representatives and...
' Presidential Recordings Program. In the 1990s he taught at the University of Hawaii and Yale. He has written four books, two of them co-authored with Alexander Fursenko on the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
and Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
.
Naftali was born in Montreal and at one point worked as an aide to Robert Bourassa
Robert Bourassa
Jean-Robert Bourassa, was a politician in Quebec, Canada. He served as the 22nd Premier of Quebec in two different mandates, first from May 12, 1970, to November 25, 1976, and then from December 12, 1985, to January 11, 1994, serving a total of just under 15 years as Provincial Premier.-Early...
. In 2007 he told the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
that he left Canada for the US in response to Quebec's language laws: "It seemed to me that the deck was stacked against civil liberties and I preferred to be in a country where I didn't have to worry about what language I spoke." He has an undergraduate degree from Yale and graduate degrees from Johns Hopkins and Harvard. Naftali is gay.
He served as a consultant to the 9/11 Commission
9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks", including preparedness for and the immediate response to...
, which commissioned him to write an unclassified history of American counterterrorism policy; this was later expanded into his well-received 2005 book Blind Spot: The Secret History of American Counterterrorism.
External links
- http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/newsandevents/naftalibio.php Official National Archives biography
- http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-morrison-naftali-040111,0,3859914.column Los Angeles Times interview
- Articles by Naftali at SlateSlate (magazine)Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
- Blog posts by Naftali at The Huffington PostThe Huffington PostThe Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...