Michael R. Wessel
Michael R. Wessel is an American commissioner of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission since 2001, and president of The Wessel Group, a public affairs consulting firm. Wessel previously worked for House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt from 1977 until 1998, becoming General Counsel for congressman Gephardt in 1991. He became a Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute in 1996, and has worked for the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton, John Kerry and Barack Obama.[1][2][3]
Biography
Early life
He received a B.A. and a J.D. from George Washington University.[2]
Career
He worked for Missouri Democratic Representative Dick Gephardt for more than twenty years.[2][3] Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute in 1996.[1] In 1999, he was appointed by the United States Congress to serve as a commissioner on the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission which published its report to Congress in 2000.
In 2001, he was appointed by the United States Congress as a commissioner of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.[1][3] He was reappointed from 2010 to 2014.[3] From 1999 to 2005, he served as Senior Vice President with the Downey McGrath Group, a lobbying firm co-founded by Thomas Downey and Raymond J. McGrath.[1] He served as its Executive Vice President in 2006.[1]
He worked on the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton, John Kerry and Barack Obama.[3] In May 2006, he founded The Wessel Group, a consulting firm on government, politics, and international affairs.[2] He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[2]
He sits on the Board of Directors of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (since 2005).[1][2][3]
Personal life
He is married to Andrea Wessel, and they have four children.[3]
Bibliography
- An Even Better Place: America in the 21st Century (Public Affairs, 1999)