R. Gil Kerlikowske

Gil Kerlikowske


Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
In office March 7, 2014 – January 20, 2017
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Thomas Winkowski (Acting)
Succeeded by	Kevin McAleenan (Acting)
Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
In office May 7, 2009 – March 7, 2014
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Ed Jurith (Acting)
Succeeded by	Michael Botticelli
Personal details
Born	(1949-11-23) November 23, 1949 (age 67) Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Anna Lazlo
Education	University of South Florida, Tampa (BA, MA)

Richard Gil Kerlikowske (born November 23, 1949) is a former Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He assumed office on March 6, 2014 and retired January 20, 2017. He also served as the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy between 2009 and 2014.

Kerlikowske graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa and the Executive Institute at the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy. He has served as Chief of Police in four cities and worked in the United States Justice Department. His longest term as a Chief of Police was between July 2001 and March 2009 in Seattle, Washington. He faced scrutiny in Seattle for the department's tactics during civil unrest. He is currently an IOP Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Kerlikowske was raised in Florida by his mother and stepfather.

Kerlikowske graduated from Fort Myers High School in 1968. He holds a B.A. and M.A. in criminal justice from the University of South Florida in Tampa. The school also gave him an honorary doctorate. He is a graduate of the National Executive Institute at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Kerlikowske was drafted into the Army in 1970, and was stationed in Washington, D.C.. Part of his responsibility was saluting then-President Richard Nixon as he boarded the presidential helicopter and he was awarded the Presidential Service Badge. He began his law enforcement career in 1972 as a police officer for the St. Petersburg Police in Florida. He served as Chief of Police in Fort Pierce, Florida and Port St. Lucie, Florida. He later served as police commissioner for Buffalo, New York for about a year and a half.