§4605 Board of Directors

Summary

Gives the Institute’s power to a Board of Directors and sets who is on the Board and how it works. The Board has 15 voting members: the Secretary of State (or a Senate‑confirmed State Department officer the Secretary names), the Secretary of Defense (or a Senate‑confirmed Defense Department officer the Secretary names), the president (or vice president) of the National Defense University, and 12 people the President appoints with the Senate’s approval. No more than eight voting members may be from the same political party. The 12 presidential appointees must have practical or academic experience in U.S. peace and conflict resolution and cannot be U.S. government officers or employees. Appointed members serve four‑year terms, but six of the first appointees serve two years as the President names. Terms start January 20, 1985 for the first group; thereafter terms start when the previous term ends. The President could not nominate before January 20, 1985 and had to send 11 initial nominees within 90 days after that date, replacing any rejected or withdrawn nominee within 15 days. Members may serve no more than two terms and do not start their term until confirmed by the Senate and sworn in. The President may remove an appointee for crimes, misconduct, neglect, inability, or on recommendations from the Board or specified House and Senate committees. Members must avoid taking part in matters that would directly and financially benefit them or organizations they were formally tied to in the past two years, with a narrow exception for ex officio members acting for their public body. The President names the first Chair for three years; after that the Board elects a Chair every three years from the presidential appointees and may choose a Vice Chair under its bylaws. The Board must meet at least twice a year, can be called by the Chair or by five members, and needs a majority for a quorum. Meetings are open to the public with reasonable notice but parts can be closed by majority vote for sensitive peace matters or information exempt from public disclosure. Presidential appointees are paid the daily equivalent of the GS‑18 annual rate for days they work for the Board and may be reimbursed for travel and per diem under the rules for intermittent government service.