President, International Republican Institute
Dr. Daniel Twining joined the International Republican Institute as president in 2017, where he leads the Institute’s mission to advance democracy and freedom around the world. He heads IRI’s team of over 800 global experts to link citizens and governments, motivate people to engage in the political process, and guide politicians and government officials to be responsive to citizens. IRI works in over 100 countries and is a core institute of the National Endowment for Democracy. Previously, Dr. Twining served as counselor to the president and director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund, as a member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, as the foreign policy advisor to U.S. Senator John McCain, and as a staff member of the U.S. Trade Representative. He has been an associate of the National Intelligence Council, taught at Georgetown University, and served as a military instructor associated with the Naval Postgraduate School. He serves on the Bush Institute’s Human Freedom Advisory Council, the Wilson Center’s Asia Advisory Board, and the USAID Administrator’s Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid. He has been a columnist for Foreign Policy and Nikkei and served as an advisor to six presidential campaigns. From 2004-7, he was the Fulbright/Oxford Scholar at Oxford University.
