Brigadier General Francis X. Taylor

Federal government official and military officer Brigadier General Francis X. Taylor was born on October 22, 1948 in Washington, D.C. to Virginia M. Taylor and Francis X. Taylor, Sr. He received his B.A. degree in 1970 and his M.A. degree in 1974 in government and international studies from the University of Notre Dame, where he served in the ROTC. He also studied at the Air Command and Staff College, Armed Forces Staff College, and Air War College.

Taylor was commissioned in the Air Force in 1970 and assigned to the counterintelligence division of the Office of Special Investigations, where he was promoted to successively superior positions. In 1984, he was named deputy director for operations in the Directorate of Counterintelligence and Investigative Programs of the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. He then held several command positions before being promoted to brigadier general and named commander of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations in 1996. Following his retirement from the Air Force in 2001, Taylor was appointed by President George W. Bush as ambassador at large, coordinator for counterterrorism, and director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons for the State Department. In this role, he was responsible for implementing U.S. counterterrorism policies overseas and coordinating the U.S. government response in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. In 2002, Taylor was appointed assistant secretary for diplomatic security in the Diplomatic Security Service and director of the Office of Foreign Missions for the State Department. In 2005, he was hired as vice president and chief security officer for General Electric. In 2013, he founded his own security, crisis management, and risk management consulting firm, FXTaylor Associates, LLC. In 2014, Taylor was appointed by President Barack Obama as Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security. Taylor retired from the U.S. government in 2017 when he joined Cambridge Global Advisors, where he was named president in 2021, and became a professor in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame.

Taylor has served on numerous boards, including those of the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Washington Institute for Foreign Affairs, and the Council on International Education Exchange as well as the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board and the advisory boards of U.S. CyberDome and Kaseware. He also has been a member of the International Security Management Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the American College of National Security Leaders.

Taylor has received numerous honors and awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and the Department of State Honor Award. In 2000, he was recognized as an Outstanding Advocate for Women by Women in Federal Law Enforcement.

Taylor and his wife, Constance Oates Taylor, live in Fort Washington, Maryland. They have three children, Jacquis Taylor, Justin Taylor, and Shari Taylor.

Brigadier General Francis X. Taylor was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on October 3, 2022.