Stuart Bowen
Encyclopedia
Stuart W. Bowen, Jr. is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lawyer who serves as the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
The Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction was created in October 2004 as the successor to the Coalition Provisional Authority Office of Inspector General . SIGIR is an independent government agency created by the Congress to provide oversight of the use – and potential...

 (SIGIR), a position he has held since October 2004. He previously served as the Inspector General for the Coalition Provisional Authority
Coalition Provisional Authority
The Coalition Provisional Authority was established as a transitional government following the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies, members of the Multi-National Force – Iraq which was formed to oust the government of Saddam Hussein in 2003...

 (CPA-IG), a position to which he was appointed in January 2004. Mr. Bowen's mission includes ensuring effective oversight of the $61 billion appropriated for Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

's relief and reconstruction.

Background

Born in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, Mr. Bowen attended the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, earned a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 from the University of the South/Sewanee, attended Vanderbilt University Law School
Vanderbilt University Law School
Vanderbilt University Law School is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law has consistently ranked among the top 20 law schools in the nation, and is currently ranked 16th in the 2012...

, and received a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from St. Mary's University School of Law
St. Mary's University School of Law
St. Mary's University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of St. Mary's University. The law school is located in San Antonio, Texas, and is the oldest Catholic law school in the American Southwest. The University is a private Catholic university...

 in San Antonio, where he served on the Law Journal's Editorial Board. He spent four years on active duty as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force, earning the rank of Captain and the Air Force Commendation Medal. From 1991 to 1992, Mr. Bowen was Briefing Attorney to Texas Supreme Court Justice Raul Gonzalez; and from 1992 to 1994, he was an Assistant Attorney General of Texas, with a litigation practice focused on the prosecution of state licensee regulatory violations and appellate work in state and federal court.

From 1994 to 2000, Mr. Bowen held a variety of positions on Texas Governor George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

's staff, including Deputy General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel for Litigation, and Assistant General Counsel. He was part of President Bush's legal team handling the post-election legal disputes in Florida during November-December 2000; his work helped ensure that overseas military ballots were properly counted. Mr. Bowen subsequently served as Counsel to the Bush-Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....

 transition team.

From 2001-2003, Mr. Bowen served President Bush as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Staff Secretary and Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel. In 2003, he became a partner at the law firm of Patton Boggs LLP, working out of its Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 office.

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction

As Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Mr. Bowen is tasked with auditing and investigating the use of taxpayer funds appropriated for the Iraq reconstruction effort. Since 2004, he has managed the production of over 350 audits and inspections, producing finanical benefits in excess of $1.1 billion; his investigations have yielded over 50 convictions, with recoveries in excess of $150 million via forfeiture orders, fines, and seizures.

Mr. Bowen has supervised the production of 30 quarterly reports to the Congress, travelled to Iraq 30 times, and testified before the Congress on 31 occasions. He managed the compilation of six lessons learned reports, including HARD LESSONS (Government Printing Office February 2009), a book-length report on the entire Iraq reconstruction enterprise, which elucidates 13 recommendations for improving the US approach to overseas stabilization and reconstruction operations. All of these reports are available at www.sigir.mil.

Mr. Bowen's work has earned numerous awards, including: The David Walker Excellence in Government Award for Performance and Accountability from the National Intergovernmental Audit Forum; Outstanding Investigative Task Force Award from the Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE); Outstanding Inspection Report Award (CIGIE); Outstanding Investigative Case Accomplishment Award (CIGIE); Outstanding Audit Team Award from the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE); Outstanding Inspection Team Award (PCIE); Gaston Gianni Special Award for Outstanding Inspector General’s Office (PCIE); Newsmaker of the Year Award from the Engineering News-Record; St. Thomas More Award for Distinguished Public Service from St. Mary’s Law School; and a Best and Brightest Award from Esquire Magazine. Because of the nature of it subject matter, Mr. Bowen's work has required extensive media engagement, including appearances on CSPAN, NPR, PBS, CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, and BBC, as well as countless interviews with print, international, and local journalists. Mr. Bowen's writings have appeared in a variety of publications including The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, National Defense University's Prism, The Journal of International Peace Operations, and books produced by King's College London and The National Defense University.

The SIGIR mission in Baghdad has not been without tragedy. On March 24, 2008, a rocket impacted the Embassy grounds killing Paul Converse, a SIGIR auditor. Paul was posthumously awarded the Jefferson Star by the State Department, its highest honor. Five other SIGIR staff members have been wounded while serving in Iraq.

Personal

Mr. Bowen is married to Adriana Sanchez Bowen (a lawyer from Bogota, Colombia) and has five children: Marshall, who attends Texas A&M, Class of 2012; Gentry, who attends Westmont College, Class of 2015; Sophie and Mallory, who attend Regents School of Austin; and Nathalie, who was born in 2010. He is a direct descendant of Chief Justice John Marshall, and his father, a West Point graduate (Class of 1956), served as a fighter pilot in Vietnam during 1966, flying 100 missions over the North and earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and numerous Air Medals.

Mr. Bowen is licensed by the Texas State Bar, Board Certified in Administrative Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, a variety of lower Federal courts, and all Texas State courts.

External links

  • http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/30/iraq.audit/
  • http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/04/AR2005050402256_pf.html Audit of Iraq Spending Spurs Criminal Probe, Washington Post, May 5, 2005
  • http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=anps9Ih6B6EE&refer=top_world_news U.S. Planned Poorly for Rebuilding Iraq, Inspector General Says, Bloomberg News, October 30, 2005
  • http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/18/world/americas/18iht-fraud.html
  • http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/29/AR2007012901817.html
  • http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/31/AR2006083101162.html
  • http://www.stripes.com/news/another-report-faults-iraq-blunders-1.86247
  • http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/21/world/middleeast/21reconstruct.html?pagewanted=all
  • http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/iraqi-security-forces-facing-serious-problems-us-oversight-official-reports/2011/01/30/ABzwy5Q_story.html
  • http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/marine-gets-6-years-in-prison-for-iraq-fraud/2011/02/07/ABr4SwQ_story.html
  • http://www.c-span.org/Events/House-Oversight-Cmte-Hearing-on-Troop-Withdrawal-from-Iraq/10737419967/
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