Paul Bremer

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Paul Bremer bigraphy, stories - American diplomat

Paul Bremer : biography

30 September 1941 –

Lewis Paul "Jerry" Bremer III (born September 30, 1941) is an American diplomat. He is most notable for his role as the Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq following the 2003 invasion. He served in this capacity from May 11, 2003, until June 28, 2004, effectively serving as Head of State of the internationally recognized government of Iraq.

Post-Iraq

After his return from Iraq, Bremer engaged in a few speaking tours. On December 14, 2004, Bremer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W Bush, America’s highest civil award for "especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." "He was also presented with the Department of Defense award for Distinguished Public Service and the Nixon Library honored him with the "Victory of Freedom Award" for "demonstrating leadership and working towards peace and freedom."

Bremer’s April 18, 2005 visit as a guest speaker to Clark University, lead to protests against his role in the Iraq War. Dissatisfied with Bremer’s speech and answers, several students also voiced disappointment at their university for having paid him $40,000 to appear. Another appearance, scheduled for the public library of his hometown, New Canaan, Connecticut, on January 18, 2006, was moved to the private St. Luke’s School in the same town for fear for protests. During a February 27, 2006 public appearance at Lynchburg College, where his sister-in-law is an assistant dean, Bremer insisted that his decision to disband the Iraqi military was the correct one.

Among other things, Bremer repeatedly asserted that when he came to Iraq, the Iraqi army had abandoned its barracks, and therefore "there was no army to disband". He also repeatedly defended his decision to expel Ba’ath Party members from government posts by comparing Saddam Hussein with Adolf Hitler.

On February 6, 2007, Bremer appeared before a Congressional committee investigating fraud and abuse and was questioned about missing funds during his tenure as head of the CPA and to respond to conclusions from a January 2005 audit report, including the missing $8.8 billion U.S. of Iraq’s money and the chosen accounting method of these funds.

Bremer currently serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board for GlobalSecure Corporation, a company whose focus is "on securing the homeland with integrated products and services for the critical incident response community worldwide,". and on the board of directors of BlastGard International, Inc., a company located in Florida that manufactures materials to mitigate the impact of explosions. (Standard and Poor’s Register)

In November 2010, Bremer joined World T.E.A.M. Sports, an Arlington, Virginia-based non-profit organization, as CEO and President. Bremer also serves as a member of the organization’s board of directors.

Bremer is a member of the board of directors of the International Republican Institute.

Governor of Iraq

Bremer arrived in Iraq as the U.S. Presidential Envoy on May 2003, and on May 11 replaced lieutenant general Jay Garner as Director of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. In June, the Office was transformed into the Coalition Provisional Authority, and Bremer, as U.S. Administrator of Iraq, became the chief executive authority in the country.

As the top civil administrator of the former Coalition Provisional Authority, Bremer was permitted to rule by decree. Among his first and most notable decrees were Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 1 which banned the Ba’ath party in all forms and Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2 dismantled the Iraqi Army.

On July 13, 2003, Bremer approved the creation of an Iraqi Interim Governing Council with the stated mission of "ensuring that the Iraqi people’s interests are represented." The council members were chosen by Bremer from among groups and individuals which had supported the American invasion of Iraq. Bremer retained veto power over the council’s proposals. The council was authorized to select a limited number of delegates to key Coalition Provisional Authority committees, like the Program Review Board.