Graham T. Allison

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Graham Tillett Allison, Jr. (born 23 March 1940, Charlotte, North Carolina) graduated from Harvard University in 1962 with an AB, Oxford University in 1964 with a BA and MA, and from Harvard University in 1968 with a PhD.

Remaining at Harvard, Allison became as assistant professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He was made an associate professor in 1970, raised to a full professor in 1972, associate dean in 1975 and dean in 1977. He served as dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government until 1989, when he was made the Douglas Dillon professor government. Under Allison's guidance, the John F. Kennedy School of Government increased in size by 400% and the endowment increased by 700%. The rise of the school was described in the New York Times as "dramatic and sometimes controversial." One controversial case came in 1980, when the Kennedy School of Government was accused of discriminating against women and minorities. The complaint was filed by the Women's Equality Action League of Massachusetts at the Department of Labor. They pointed out that out that of the school's 47 teachers only 3 were women and there were no minorities. His biggest blunder came when he agreed to give a rich Texas couple (Charles C. Dickinson III and Joanne W. Eaton) prestigious university appointments in exchange for $500,000. The deal was exposed by The Harvard Crimson, a student newspaper, forcing Allison to move away from the deal. Allison's connection to the couple no doubt came through his experience in the oil industry. He was formerly a director of Getty Oil and Belco Oil and Gas. Allison was also faced with corruption charges at Getty Oil, which came under fire for a suspect merger involving Texaco and Pennzoil. Allison has also served on the board of Taubman Centers, Inc; the advisory boards of the Chase Bank, Hydro-Quebec, the International Energy Corporation; and is a Trustee of IXIS Advisor.

He is also director for the Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs, and was director of the Project on Strengthening Democratic Institutions, from 1990 to 1993.

Allison has been heavily involved in U.S. defense policy since he became an advisor and consultant to the Department of Defense in the 1960's. He has been a member of the Secretary of Defense's Defense Policy Board from 1985. In addition, he was special advisor to the Secretary of Defense, from 1985 to 1987. From 1993 to 1994, he was [Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy and Plans. In this capacity, he coordinated strategy and policy towards former Soviet Union states.

He is a supporter of the Democratic Party, and close with the Dukakis family. He was an informal advisor the Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign. While, Allison was dean of the Kennedy School of Government, it became a hive of Dukakis supporters.

He was a fellow of the Center for Advanced Studies, from 1973 to 1974; consultant for the RAND Corporation; member of the Council on Foreign Relations; member of the Trilateral Commission, 1974 to 1984; member of the visiting committee on foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, from 1972 to 1977; and a member of numerous panels at the National Academy of Sciences. Allison was among names mentioned to succeed David Rockefeller as President at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is known to have attended at least one meeting of the Bilderberg Group.

Allison is the author of: Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis, (1971); Remaking Foreign Policy: The Organizational Connection, (1976); Sharing International Responsibility Among the Trilateral Countries, (1983); and Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe, (2004). He is the co-author of: Hawks, Doves and Owls: An Agenda for Avoiding Nuclear War, (1985); Fateful Visions: Avoiding Nuclear Catastrophe, (1988); Windows of Opportunity: From Cold War to Peaceful Competition, (1989); Window of Opportunity: The Grand Bargain for Democracy in the Soviet Union, (1991); Rethinking America's Security, (1992); and Beyond the Cold War to Trilateral Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region, (1992).