Rear Admiral Ken Bernard

About

Rear Admiral Kenneth Bernard, retired officer of the US Public Health Service (USPHS), is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution; and a member of the Defense Science Board Permanent Subcommittee on Threats and the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity. He served in the George W. Bush White House as special assistant to the president for biodefense and assistant surgeon general, and for the World Health Organization as senior political adviser to the director-general.

In the Bush administration, Bernard directed policy development to prevent, mitigate, and respond to chemical, biological, and radiological attacks by states or terrorist groups. Following the September 11 attacks, he created the position of special adviser for national security, intelligence, and defense for the secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, where he coordinated the development of an intelligence infrastructure around WMD threats.

In the Clinton White House, he was senior adviser for security and health on the National Security Council staff, dealing with bioterrorism, smallpox, HIV/AIDS, and other threats as they affect national security. Bernard also served as the international health attaché at the US Mission to the UN in Geneva and was head of the US delegation negotiating the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. He began his career as a physician and a viral disease epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control.

Bernard is a recipient of the USPHS Distinguished Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Surgeon General’s Exemplary Service Medal, and the USPHS Outstanding Service and Commendation medals. He also received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service.  

Bernard received his AB degree from the University of California–Berkeley, an MD from the University of California–Davis, and a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene from the University of London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is board certified in internal medicine and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.