Mark P. Lagon

Mark P. Lagon (born 1965) is an American political scientist and practitioner. His areas of expertise include human rights, global health, human trafficking, and global institutions and governance. Lagon is the Chief Policy Officer at Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and a Distinguished Senior Scholar at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.^[1]

Mark P. Lagon
Lagon at the Compassion in Action Roundtable on Human Trafficking in 2007.
Nationality	American
Education	Harvard University (BA), Georgetown University (PhD)
Employer	Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria

Education

Lagon earned his B.A. in government from Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude in 1986. He earned his Ph.D. with distinction from Georgetown University in 1991.^[2] Lagon later published his dissertation as a book called The Reagan Doctrine: Sources of American Conduct in the Cold War’s Last Chapter (Praeger, 1994).

Career

Between 1991 and 1993, Lagon worked at the American Enterprise Institute.^[3] He then became an analyst at the House Republican Policy Committee^[4] and later moved to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In 2004, he became Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in International Organizational Affairs.^[5]

 

Lagon (third from left) as the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 is signed into law.

In 2007, Lagon was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large to and Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.^[6] Following his ambassadorship at the State Department, Lagon became Executive Director and CEO of the Polaris Project.^[7]

Lagon then co-founded the Global Business Coalition Against Human Trafficking, a partnership of businesses addressing human trafficking in corporate activity around the world.^[8] In 2015, he was appointed President and CEO of Freedom House, a non-governmental organization that researches, advocates for, and assists the promotion of democracy and human rights globally.^[9][10]

Lagon returned to the Walsh School of Foreign Service in 2016. He was its inaugural Centennial Fellow and continues to be a Distinguished Senior Scholar.^[11] In 2017, he joined Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a US non-profit advocating for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria,^[12] an international partnership between governments, businesses, and civil society to combat epidemics.^[13][14]

Publications

 

Lagon meeting Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou in 2016.

Lagon has published two books:

• Human Dignity and the Future of Global Institutions (co-edited with Anthony Clark Arend; Georgetown University Press, 2014)
• The Reagan Doctrine: Sources of American Conduct in the Cold War’s Last Chapter (sole author; Praeger, 1994)

His other works have been published in over 60 journals and newspapers. These journals include Perspectives on Political Science, Policy Review, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Journal of Political Science, The National Interest, and World Affairs. These newspapers include The Hill, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Lagon has written a variety of pieces on behalf of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.^[15][16][17]

Personal life

Lagon is the son of World War II-era Polish refugees and was raised in Concord, Massachusetts.^[18] He is married to Dr. Susan Lagon, a political scientist and longtime Senior Fellow at Georgetown University.

References

1. "Friends Names Respected Scholar Mark P. Lagon as Chief Policy Officer". Friends of The Global Fight. 2017-03-15. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
2. Arend, Anthony Clark (2010-05-03). "Ambassador Mark Lagon to return to Georgetown University". Anthony Clark Arend. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
3. Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs (2007-05-15). "Lagon, Mark P." 2001-2009.state.gov. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
4. Arend, Anthony Clark (2010-05-03). "Ambassador Mark Lagon to return to Georgetown University". Anthony Clark Arend. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
5. "Mark Logan". www.gwcapitolhilltop.org. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
6. Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs (2007-05-15). "Lagon, Mark P." 2001-2009.state.gov. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
7. "Dr. Mark Lagon joins private anti-trafficking organization". www.iwp.edu. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
8. "About GBCAT". GBCAT. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
9. "Mark P. Lagon to Become President of Freedom House". freedomhouse.org. 2014-10-01. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
10. "About us | Freedom House". freedomhouse.org. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
11. "Former Freedom House President, Mark P. Lagon, Joins SFS as Inaugural SFS Centennial Fellow". School of Foreign Service - Georgetown University. 2016-10-21. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
12. "Friends Names Respected Scholar Mark P. Lagon as Chief Policy Officer". Friends of The Global Fight. 2017-03-15. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
13. "At the Tipping Point: U.S. Leadership to End AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria" (PDF). www.theglobalfight.org. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
14. "Home - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria". www.theglobalfund.org. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
15. "The Global Fund as a Model of Development Assistance". Friends of The Global Fight. 2018-09-17. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
16. "Multiplier for U.S. Policy: The Global Fund and HER (HIV Epidemic Response)". Friends of The Global Fight. 2018-02-26. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
17. "Backing Civil Society in the March to End Epidemics". Friends of The Global Fight. 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
18. Una-nca (2015-12-07). "UNA-NCA Blog : Human Rights Awards Reception – Spotlight! on Ambassador Mark P. Lagon (ret.)". UNA-NCA Blog. Retrieved 2018-12-21.