43 Facts About Paul Bremer

Lewis Paul Bremer III was born on September 30,1941 and is an American diplomat.

Paul Bremer was the de facto head of state of Iraq as leader of the Coalition Provisional Authority following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, from May 2003 until June 2004.

Paul Bremer's father was president of the Christian Dior Perfumes Corporation in New York and his mother was a lecturer in art history at the University of Bridgeport.

Paul Bremer graduated from Yale University in 1963 and went on to earn an MBA from Harvard University in 1966.

Paul Bremer later continued his education at the Institut d'etudes politiques de Paris, where he earned a Certificate of Political Studies.

Paul Bremer was assigned to Blantyre, Malawi, as economic and commercial officer from 1968 to 1971.

Paul Bremer accompanied Kissinger on shuttle diplomacy missions to Israel, Syria, and Egypt to resolve the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Paul Bremer was Deputy Chief of Mission in Oslo, Norway, from 1976 to 1979, returning to the United States to take a post of Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department of State, where he remained from 1979 until 1981.

Paul Bremer retired from the Foreign Service in 1989 and became managing director at Kissinger and Associates, a worldwide consulting firm founded by Henry Kissinger.

Paul Bremer served as a trustee on the Economic Club of New York, and a board member of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Paul Bremer served on the International Advisory Boards of Komatsu Corporation and Chugai Pharmaceuticals.

Paul Bremer was appointed Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorism by House Speaker Dennis Hastert in 1999.

Paul Bremer served on the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism, which authored a 2002 report called "Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism".

Paul Bremer was appointed by President Bush as Presidential Envoy to Iraq on May 9,2003.

Paul Bremer's appointment declared him subject to the "authority, direction and control" of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Paul Bremer empowered the CPA to develop and implement the Iraqi constitution.

Paul Bremer's office was a division of the US Department of Defense, and as Administrator he reported directly to the United States Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States.

On December 14,2004, Paul Bremer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush, America's highest civil award for "especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors".

Paul Bremer repeatedly defended his decision to expel Ba'ath Party members from government posts by comparing Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler.

On February 6,2007, Paul Bremer appeared before a congressional committee investigating fraud and abuse and was questioned about missing funds during his tenure as head of the CPA and a January 2005 audit that found $8.8 billion in unaccounted for funds.

In 2006 Paul Bremer published a memoir called My Year in Iraq: The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope, which has been described as "an almost day-by-day narrative that sticks to what Paul Bremer was doing and with whom he was interacting, without providing much analysis or introspection".

Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times characterized it as "an amalgam of spin and sincerity, is partly an explanation of actions Mr Paul Bremer took as America's man in Baghdad, partly an effort to issue some 'I told you so's' to administration colleagues, and partly an attempt to spread responsibility by tracing just who in the White House, Pentagon and State Department signed off on or ordered critical decisions made during his tenure".

Paul Bremer is a consistent advocate for continued US presence in Iraq.

Paul Bremer has self-mockingly described his style of painting as "evolving American primitive".

Paul Bremer has worked for several seasons as a ski instructor at Okemo Mountain Resort in Vermont.

Paul Bremer engages in consulting work and serves on a number of boards.

Paul Bremer currently serves on the board of directors of BlastGard International, a Florida-based company that manufactures materials to mitigate the impact of explosions.

Paul Bremer served as a member of the organization's board of directors.

Paul Bremer retired from the organization in March 2012 and as of 2015 was listed as a 'Special Advisor'.

Paul Bremer formerly served as a member of the board of directors of the International Republican Institute.

Paul Bremer received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2013.

Paul Bremer appears in a viral internet meme, where his phrase "Ladies and gentlemen, we got him" following the capture of Saddam Hussein is used to accompany someone getting 'busted' or exposed, often with Breakbot's "Baby I'm Yours" playing in the background.

On May 23,2003, Paul Bremer issued Order Number 2, in effect dissolving the entire former Iraqi army and putting 400,000 former Iraqi soldiers out of work.

Paul Bremer was later heavily criticized for officially disbanding the former Iraqi Army.

Paul Bremer contends that there were no armies to disband, despite the fact that American commanders at that time were negotiating with senior Iraqi army officers on how to use the Iraqi army for security purposes.

Paul Bremer claimed that many soldiers simply left after the fall of Baghdad; some to protect their own families from the rampant looting.

Paul Bremer was in personal danger because of Iraqi perceptions of him and was henceforth heavily guarded.

Paul Bremer's article goes into further detail about how the Coalition Provisional Authority considered two alternatives: To recall the old army or to rebuild a new army with "both vetted members of the old army and new recruits".

Paul Bremer was warned of the harm his actions would have.

Paul Bremer was accountable to the Secretary of Defense for the actions he took.

Paul Bremer did not make sure the CPA hired internal auditors, however.

On March 28,2004, Paul Bremer ordered the 759th Military Police Battalion to shut down controversial Iraqi newspaper al-Hawza for two months.

Two days before he left Iraq, Paul Bremer signed Coalition Provisional Authority Order 17, which gave everyone associated with the CPA and the American government immunity from Iraqi law.