Director - INTERPOL Washington
Uttam Dhillon
Director
INTERPOL Washington
Uttam Dhillon became the fifteenth director of INTERPOL Washington—the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB)—on August 1, 2020. As Director, Mr. Dhillon acts on behalf of the Attorney General as the official U.S. representative to the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the world’s largest police organization, and its 194 member countries. In this capacity, he leads the U.S. Government’s efforts to share and exchange international criminal justice, border security, and humanitarian information across the INTERPOL communications platform. He is responsible for all personnel and assets dedicated to INTERPOL Washington’s mission of supporting domestic and international law enforcement and border security operations around the globe.
Mr. Dhillon previously served as the Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) where he led a workforce of over 15,000 and oversaw a budget of $3.2 billion. He was responsible for DEA’s enforcement, intelligence, administrative, and regulatory activities worldwide. He also served on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and as co-chair of the IACP Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Committee.
Before joining DEA, Mr. Dhillon served as Deputy Counsel and Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States. In 2006, he was confirmed by the Senate as the first Director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In that role, he worked closely with other federal agencies to coordinate the U.S. Government’s anti-drug efforts. Prior to DHS, Mr. Dhillon served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Dhillon served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California. In that role, he successfully prosecuted complex investigations involving drug trafficking, money laundering, alien smuggling, and gun possession, and argued multiple appeals before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Dhillon also has significant experience in the Legislative Branch, holding several senior roles, including Chief Oversight Counsel for the House Financial Services Committee, Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director for the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, and Senior Investigative Counsel for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Mr. Dhillon graduated from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He earned a Master of Arts degree in psychology from the University of California, San Diego, a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from California State University, Sacramento, and an Associate of Arts degree in psychology from Imperial Valley College. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.
Deputy Director - INTERPOL Washington
Michael A. Hughes
Deputy Director
INTERPOL Washington
Michael A. Hughes began his appointment as Deputy Director of INTERPOL Washington - United States National Central Bureau, in October 2018. As Deputy Director, Mr. Hughes serves as Chief Operating Officer, with oversight of all personnel and assets dedicated to INTERPOL Washington’s global mission of supporting domestic and international law enforcement and border security operations.
Mr. Hughes has more than 28 years’ experience in the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), beginning as a Deputy Marshal in 1991. In the course of his career he has worked a wide array of assignments including criminal investigations, protective operations, court security, human resources, asset forfeiture, and tactical operations. His experience at the USMS includes service as Chief Inspector in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program; Chief of the Office of Recruitment; Acting Deputy Assistant Director for the Human Resources Division, and Chief of the Office of Crisis Services.
Most recently, Mr. Hughes served as the United States Marshal for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 2011 to 2018. Serving in two consecutive Presidential Administrations, with advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, he was the appointed senior executive responsible for leading one of the largest, busiest, and most complex of all U.S. Marshals Service offices in protecting, defending, and enforcing the American justice system in our nation’s Capital.
Mr. Hughes has also served in an executive capacity on many criminal justice task forces and academic committees including the Washington/Baltimore High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, and American University’s School of Public Affairs Key Executive Program, amongst others. In 2003, he was selected as a Legislative Fellow. As a legislative assistant in the United States Senate, he advised on policy issues in areas including criminal justice, law enforcement, the judiciary, and civil rights.
For the past several years, Mr. Hughes has worked with Concerns of Police Survivors, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, and the Fraternal Order of Police in planning, coordinating, and staffing National Police Week in Washington, DC.
Mr. Hughes’ academic credentials include a Master of Public Administration degree from American University’s Key Executive Leadership Program, a Legislative Fellowship from Georgetown University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice from Montclair State University, N.J.