William McGurn is an American writer. He was the chief speechwriter for President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 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....

 from June 2006 until February 2008, replacing Michael Gerson

Michael Gerson

Michael John Gerson is an op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, a Policy Fellow with the ONE Campaign, and a former senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as President George W...

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Early life

McGurn received a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

 and a master's degree in communications from Boston University

Boston University

Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...

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Career

McGurn served as the chief editorial writer with The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....

. From 1992 to 1998, McGurn served as the senior editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review

Far Eastern Economic Review

The Far Eastern Economic Review was an English language Asian news magazine started in 1946. It printed its final issue in December 2009. The Hong Kong-based business magazine was originally published weekly...

. Prior to this he was the Washington bureau chief of National Review

National Review

National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...

. He writes the Main Street column

Columnist

A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....

 at The Wall Street Journal and is an executive at its parent company, News Corporation

News Corporation

News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...

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External links

• McGurn's letter of resignation as chief speechwriter for Bush, dated February 7, 2008, effective February 8, 2008.
• White House press release announcing McGurn's hiring
• Different Writer, Same President
• How the Task Has Toughened For Bush Speechwriters
• The State Department sends in the Marines to consign a U.S. citizen to Saudi hell
• Life of the Party Bob Casey lecture in the Catholic archdiocese of Denver.
• Something Out of Nothing: Reflections on September 11, 2001