Biography Joseph W. Prueher

Admiral Joseph W. Prueher was sworn in on December 2, 1999 as United States Ambassador to the People's Republic of China. The President announced his intent to nominate Admiral Prueher on September 7, and he was confirmed by the Senate on November 10.

Ambassador Prueher, of Nashville, Tennessee, is a retired Navy admiral and former Commander in Chief of U.S. Pacific Command, from which he stepped down in February 1999. For over three years, Ambassador Prueher served as the senior U.S. military commander in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and their littoral areas. He led the largest U.S. Unified Command, directing Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine operations and was accountable for U.S. collective defense arrangements in the Asia-Pacific region. In this capacity, he worked with Asia-Pacific civil and military leaders to promote security and cooperation in the region.

On May 1, 1999, Ambassador Prueher completed a thirty-five year career in the Navy. Following his retirement, he was a consulting Professor and Senior Advisor for the Stanford-Harvard Preventive Defense Project.

Ambassador Prueher received a M.S. in International Relations from the George Washington University and a B.S. in Naval Science from the U.S. Naval Academy. He has published numerous articles on leadership, military readiness, and Pacific region security issues, and has received multiple military awards for combat flying as well as Naval and Joint Service. Additionally, he has been decorated by the Governments of Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, and Indonesia, and is an Honorary Officer in the Military Division of the Order of Australia.

Ambassador Prueher and his wife, Suzanne, have a daughter and a son.

Released by the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs December 1999.