Wolfgang Pusztai

AIES Senior Advisor

Security & policy analyst with a special focus on the MENA region

Wolfgang Pusztai has both a military and an academic background in strategy. His education includes a Master of Science in Political Science from the University of Vienna and a Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University / National War College in Washington D.C. He is one of the few Distinguished Graduates from this senior-level education facility.

Wolfgang´s vast military experience ranges from various positions on the strategic level in the Austrian MoD/General Staff to several international assignments (national, EU and NATO). He has also worked for a long time in the intelligence business. From 2007 to 2012 he was Austria´s Defense Attaché to Italy, Greece, Tunisia and Libya (as well as liaison officer at the Italian Joint Operations Headquarters) and spent quite some time on the ground during the "Arab Spring". This included the organization of the evacuation of hundreds of Austrian and EU citizens from Libya at the beginning of the Revolution and various reconnaissance missions.

Wolfgang has lectured at prominent universities and published extensively about strategy in general as well as about the developments in wider North Africa, in particular related to Libya, Egypt and Tunisia, the Islamic State and migration. He is well-known for his accurate assessment, forecasts, and country risk analyses. Wolfgang advises politicians and institutions in several countries.

Wolfgang is a Director of the California-based advisory company Perim Associates. Since 2016, he is also the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the "National Council on U.S.-Libya Relations".