Pete Peterson

POW, former ambassador to Vietnam

Pete Peterson is an American businessman, investment banker, fiscal conservative, author, and politician whose most prominent political position was as United States Secretary of Commerce. He is Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, and Senior Chairman of the private equity firm, the Blackstone Group. In 1969, he was invited to chair a Commission on Foundations and Private Philanthropy, which became known as the Peterson Commission. Peterson is a co-founder of the prominent private equity and investment management firm, the Blackstone Group and was a co-founder of the Concord Coalition. He is founding Chairman of the Peterson Institute, and a Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development.