Peter Beshar

From 2022 to early 2025, the Honorable Peter J. Beshar served as the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Air Force. Nominated by the President and unanimously confirmed by the Senate to this 4-star equivalent role, Mr. Beshar was the Chief Legal Officer and Ethics Official of the Air Force and the Space Force. With the help of 2,500 civilian and military lawyers, he provided oversight and guidance to 500,000 Airmen and Guardians.

As the second ever General Counsel of the Space Force, Mr. Beshar addressed an array of emerging space law issues and coordinated strategies governing rocket launches and the analysis of satellite imagery. He supported the rapid integration of commercial innovations ranging from unmanned drones to A.I.-enabled mission support systems. Mr. Beshar also advised Air Force leadership on critical legal issues regarding the modernization of the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missiles. In January 2025, Mr. Beshar was recognized with the highest award for civilian employees – the Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service.

From 2004 to 2022, Mr. Beshar served as the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Marsh McLennan, a professional services firm with 80,000 employees. As an integral member of the leadership team, he helped engineer one of the most significant turnarounds in recent corporate history. Mr. Beshar has testified numerous times before the Senate, House of Representatives, SEC and European Parliament and authored op-eds in the Washington Post, New York Times, USA Today and US News & World Report.

In 2015, Mr. Beshar was appointed by President Obama as a Trustee of the Wilson Center. Earlier in his career, he served as the Special Assistant to the former U.S. Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, in the peace negotiations in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia.

Mr. Beshar has been honored for his business and civic contributions with the Military Mondays Pro Bono Award from Legal Services NYC, the Distinguished Leadership Award from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the Law & Society Award from New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and the Business Leadership Award from the Citizens Union of New York. He serves on the Board of the Atlantic Council and the Board of Advisors of the Jackson School of Global Affairs at Yale University and previously served on the Board of Directors of CARE and as Chair of its Audit Committee and the Board of Trustees of John Jay College.

Mr. Beshar graduated from Harvard Law School with a JD, cum laude, and from Yale University with a BA, magna cum laude.