Gen. Anthony Zinni and Adm. James Stavridis

Co-Chairs, National Security Advisory Council

General Anthony Zinni (Ret.) serves as the co-chair of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s National Security Advisory Council of over 150 retired three- and four-star generals and flag officers. He was also the founding co-chair of the group with Admiral Leighton Smith, USN (Ret.). He retired from the U.S. Marine Corps after 39 years of service in 2000 as the Commander of U.S. Central Command, responsible for the Middle East and Central Asia. His military service took him to over 70 countries, including deployments to the Mediterranean, Western Pacific, Northern Europe, and Korea. He served in Germany during the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, as well as in Okinawa and two tours in Vietnam. Following his retirement from the Marine Corps, he continued to serve as a U.S. Peace Envoy in the Middle East and as the Special Envoy to the Henri Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, working to resolve conflicts related to Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sudan. In addition, he has held academic positions that include the Stanley Chair in Ethics at the Virginia Military Institute, the Nimitz Chair at the University of California, Berkeley, the Hofheimer Chair at the Joint Forces Staff College, and the Harriman Professorship of Government at the Reves Center for International Studies at the College of William and Mary. General Zinni currently serves on the board of BAE Systems.<br /> <br /> Admiral James G. Stavridis (Ret.) serves as the co-chair of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s National Security Advisory Council of over 150 retired three- and four-star generals and flag officers. Admiral Stavridis currently serves as the Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, a post he has held since his retirement from the U.S. Navy in 2013. Admiral Stavridis is a 37-year Naval veteran of and served as the Commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe from 2009 until his retirement in 2013. Prior to his service at European Command, Admiral Stavridis was the Commander of U.S. Southern Command from 2006 until 2009. In addition to his service abroad, Admiral Stavridis served as the executive assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and then senior military assistant to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. His various decorations and awards include two awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal and five awards of the Legion of Merit.