WASHINGTON – Georgetown University Law Center is pleased to announce the appointment of international justice and war crimes expert and former National Security Council official Anna Cave as the new Executive Director of the Center on National Security and the Law.

“It is my pleasure to welcome Anna Cave to Georgetown,” said Georgetown Law Dean and Executive Vice President William M. Treanor. “Anna’s experience in shaping initiatives that advance U.S. national security, rule of law, and human rights underscores the school’s commitment to the field.”

An international lawyer with private sector litigation experience, Cave also has held a number of foreign policy and national security positions at the U.S. Department of State. As principal deputy in the Office of Global Criminal Justice, Cave oversaw the office’s work to promote transitional justice. As senior advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, she helped to establish the Department’s new secretariat for atrocities prevention.

At the National Security Council, Cave served as the director for Central Africa, developing and coordinating U.S. policy across all foreign policy agencies and departments, including issues relating to peace and security, trade and economic development, intelligence, and military assistance.

Most recently, Cave served as the founding director of the Ferencz International Justice Initiative at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Center for the Prevention of Genocide, where she was responsible for conceptualizing and launching the initiative’s innovative work to prevent and redress international crimes.

“Anna’s knowledge of international law and policy and formidable grasp of the complex issues that drive conflict and contribute to threats to U.S. national security put her in a position to generate critical new insights for the field,” said Georgetown Law Professor Laura K. Donohue, the Center’s faculty director. “We are delighted to welcome her to the team.”

Together with Georgetown Law’s location in the heart of the nation’s capital, the Center on National Security and the Law has been central to making Georgetown the preeminent place to study national security law. It has shaped what is widely regarded as the leading academic program in the field for J.D. students and for students pursuing an LL.M. in national security law. Georgetown Law, the nation’s largest law school, now offers more than 60 courses in the field.

The Center on National Security and the Law, anchored by a faculty of unparalleled expertise and accomplishments, produces rigorous scholarship, groundbreaking initiatives, and innovative experiential learning opportunities. It convenes diverse stakeholders to examine some of the most pressing and over-the-horizon security challenges, forging timely, practical and principled approaches and solutions for the future.

Georgetown University Law Center is a global leader in legal education based in the heart of the U.S. capital. As the nation’s largest law school, Georgetown Law offers students an unmatched breadth and depth of academic opportunities taught by a world-class faculty of celebrated theorists and leading legal practitioners. Second to none in experiential education, the Law Center’s numerous clinics are deeply woven into the Washington, D.C., landscape. Close to 20 centers and institutes forge cutting-edge research and policy resources across fields including health, the environment, human rights, technology, national security and international economics. Georgetown Law equips students to succeed in a rapidly evolving legal environment and to make a profound difference in the world, guided by the school’s motto, “Law is but the means, justice is the end.”