Emilio T. Gonzalez

Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services: Emilio T. Gonzalez

Emilio T. Gonzalez, PH.D, serves as Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, an Under Secretary position within the Department of Homeland Security. Appointed by President Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2005, Dr. Gonzalez leads an organization of more than 15,000 federal and contract employees responsible for the accurate, efficient and secure processing of immigration benefits.

Prior to joining the Miami based international law firm of Tew Cardenas, Dr. Gonzalez was Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council, Washington, D.C. In this capacity he served as a key National Security and Foreign Policy advisor to President George W. Bush and Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

An international affairs specialist, Dr. Gonzalez has spent most of his professional career involved in foreign affairs and international security policy issues. He has served in or traveled to almost every country in the Western Hemisphere on numerous occasions, and has represented the United States Government on special diplomatic missions. Dr. Gonzalez remains active in international politics. He often meets with Heads of State, Foreign Ministers, Trade Ministers, ambassadors and political leaders from throughout the hemisphere. Additionally, Dr. Gonzalez is a noted commentator on Hispanic and international affairs and has appeared on local, national and international radio and television programs.

Dr. Gonzalez completed a distinguished career in the U.S. Army that spanned twenty-six years. During this time he served as a military attaché to U.S. Embassies in El Salvador and Mexico, taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point and headed the Office of Special Assistants for the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Southern Command.

A graduate of the University of South Florida in Tampa with a B.A. in International Studies, Dr. Gonzalez also earned MA degrees in Latin American Studies from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana and in Strategic Studies and National Security Affairs from the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He was awarded a Ph.D. degree in International Relations from the Graduate School of International Studies, University of Miami, where he also received the Graduate School Award for Academic Achievement. He has been awarded numerous decorations from the United States and has also been decorated by the governments of El Salvador, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua. Dr. Gonzalez is a Knight of Malta.

This page was last modified on September 19, 2006

Source: http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/biography_0148.shtm

Update: DHS link no longer exists, but Wikipedia still does: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilio_T._Gonzalez

Dr. Gonzalez Garcia is a Knight of Malta and a Knight of the Sacred Constantinian Order of St. George. In 2010, he was inducted into the College of Nobles of the Principality of Asturias (Spain).
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