John Gastright Jr.

John Anthony Gastright Jr. is President of Institute for Indo-Pacific Security. Over the course of his career he has served in senior positions in business, and previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and the U.S. Interagency Coordinator for Afghanistan. In addition, he served as the Director for House Affairs at the Bureau of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and was Special Assistant to Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.

Prior to service at the State Department, Mr. Gastright served as a congressional staffer in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate from 1995 to 2003. From 1988 to 1994, he was an officer in the United States Navy and from 1987 to 1988 he served as a City of Charleston, South Carolina Police Officer. He has been awarded Master’s Degrees from the Catholic University of America and the Naval War College and a Bachelor’s Degree from the Citadel.

Mr. Gastright and his wife Kendra have three children. They reside on a family farm in Croom, Maryland.