Todd F. Buchwald was selected by President Obama to serve as head the office of Global Criminal Justice in the wake of the vacancy created by the departure of Ambassador Stephen Rapp. Prior to assuming this position, Ambassador Buchwald served as a career lawyer in the Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser, including most recently as the Assistant Legal Adviser for Political-Military Affairs during the Clinton and Bush Administrations, and the Assistant Legal Adviser for United Nations Affairs during the Bush and Obama Administrations. Before becoming Assistant Legal Adviser, Ambassador Buchwald served as an attorney in the Office of White House Counsel, and was an associate in the litigation and tax sections of the Washington law firm of Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering. He has been the recipient of numerous Presidential Rank Awards, Superior Honor Awards, and State Department performance awards, as well as recipient of the Justice Tom C. Clark Award (outstanding attorney in the federal government). He has published a variety of scholarly articles, including on the legality of use of force in Iraq, United States security assistance programs, and the crime of aggression. Most importantly, however, he was “Coach of the Year” in McLean Little League (2007) and McLean Youth Basketball (2015).

Ambassador Buchwald received his B.A. from Cornell University and his J.D. from the Yale Law School.