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The Honorable Edward McGaffigan, Jr., is the longest serving Commissioner in
NRC's history. He was appointed twice by President Clinton in 1996 and 2000,
and most recently by President Bush in 2005. He has over 31 years of Federal
service. Throughout his tenure on the Commission he has focused on improving
the effectiveness and efficiency of a wide range of NRC processes, while
simultaneously expanding public access to information. After the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001, Commissioner McGaffigan helped design an
enhanced security posture for NRC reactor and materials licensees. He has
testified before Congressional committees on safety and security matters more
than 20 times. He has received NRC's highest honor, the Distinguished Service
Award, the American Nuclear Society's (ANS's) Distinguished Public Service
Award, and the joint ANS-Nuclear Energy Institute Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award.
Prior to his first appointment to the Commission, from 1983 to 1996, Mr. McGaffigan served on the staff
of Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). He supported the Senator's work on defense policy, technology policy,
personnel and acquisition reform, and nonproliferation and export control policy. He authored numerous
statutory provisions in these areas.
Mr. McGaffigan was a member of the Foreign Service from 1976 to 1983. From 1981 to 1983 he served
in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he oversaw international scientific
cooperation and export control matters. During much of this time, he held a dual appointment on the staff
of the National Security Council. Previously, Mr. McGaffigan carried out various assignments within the
State Department dealing with U.S.-Soviet relations and nuclear non-proliferation issues. He was stationed
in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow from 1978 to 1980, where he reported on Soviet energy and atomic energy
developments.
Before joining the Foreign Service, Mr. McGaffigan worked on evaluating Japanese research at the RAND
Corporation and on strategic arms control issues at the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
Mr. McGaffigan grew up in Boston and was valedictorian of his graduating class at Boston Latin School.
In 1970 he received his bachelor's degree (summa cum laude) in physics from Harvard. He was elected to
Phi Beta Kappa his junior year. He holds master's degrees in physics from California Institute of
Technology (1974) and public policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government (1976). He won
numerous fellowships during his academic career, including a Sheldon Travelling Fellowship, a National
Science Foundation Fellowship and a Harvard National Graduate Fellowship.
Mr. McGaffigan resides in Arlington, Va., with his two children. He enjoys running, and has completed
six Marine Corps marathons and one JFK 50 Miler. His wife of 18 years, Peggy Weeks McGaffigan,
passed away in 2000 after a long illness.
June 2007
Note: Mr. McGaffigan is now deceased. |