Dennis C. Blair

Special Advisor, Institute of Geoeconomics
Former Director of National Intelligence, United States
Former Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command; Retired Navy Admiral
Knott Distinguished Visiting Professor of the Practice, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Profile

Admiral Dennis Blair is the first Knott Distinguished Visiting Professor of the Practice at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He serves as a member of the Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC) and on the board of Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE). In addition, he serves on the boards of Freedom House, the National Bureau of Asian Research, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. From January 2009 to May 2010, as Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Blair led the sixteen national intelligence agencies. He was president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Defense Analyses in 2003-06. Prior to retiring from the Navy in 2002 after a career of 34 years, Admiral Blair was the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Admiral Blair earned a master’s degree in history and languages from Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar.