William R. Polk

William R. Polk is is a graduate of Harvard University (B,A. and Ph.D.) and Oxford University (B.A. and M.A.). He helped to found the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University from 1955 to 1961 when President Kennedy appointed him the Member of the Policy Planning Council responsible for the Middle East, Central Asia and much of Africa. In 1965, Dr. Polk resigned from government service to become Professor of History at the University of Chicago. There he established the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and was a founding director of the American Middle Eastern Studies Association. He was called back to the White House briefly during the 1967 Middle Eastern war to write a draft peace treaty and to act as assistant to the former Director of the National Security Council and then the President's special assistant, McGeorge Bundy. In 1970, at the request of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir he successfully negotiated with President Nasser of Egypt a ceasefire on the Suez Canal. In addition he has appeared frequently on radio and television programs including CBS, ABC, PBS, and BBC. His many books are available here.