Frank J. Gaffney Jr.

Frank J. Gaffney Jr.
Frank Gaffney in 2018
Born	(1953-04-05) 5 April 1953 (age 65) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Residence	Washington, D.C. area, United States
Citizenship	United States
Education	Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (B.A., 1975) Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (M.A.)
Occupation	President of Center for Security Policy
Organization	Center for Security Policy
Known for	Counter-jihad conspiracy theories, political commentary
Salary	$288,300 (2008) $309,000 (2012)
Spouse(s)	Marisol
Parent(s)	Frank J. Gaffney Sr. Virginia Reed
Awards	Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service (1987) Zionist Organization of America's Louis Brandeis Award (2003)
Website	Frank Gaffney on Twitter

Frank J. Gaffney Jr. (born 5 April 1953) is an American counter-jihad conspiracy theorist and the founder and president of the Center for Security Policy. In the 1970s and 1980s he worked in various roles for the federal government, including seven months as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the Reagan administration.

Gaffney was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1953 to Virginia Gaffney (née Reed) and Frank J. Gaffney. His father was a classical music aficionado and long-time partner at the law firm of Thorp, Reed & Armstrong, which was founded by his wife's father, Earl Reed. (It merged in 2013 with Clark Hill PLC.) Gaffney's grandfather, Joseph Gaffney, was a city solicitor of Philadelphia. In the early twentieth century in that city, he was controversial as a known Catholic, because nativist Protestant groups in the city alleged that Catholics were "gaining control of American institutions while rewriting the nation's history".

In 1975, Gaffney graduated from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University. He received his graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.