Christopher Wray

Christopher Wray became the eighth Director of the FBI on August 2, 2017. He led the Bureau’s 38,000 men and women around the globe for nearly eight years, until he retired in January 2025. Under his leadership, the FBI confronted dangerous and complex threats from a relentless array of adversaries with an emphasis on people, partnerships, process, and innovation. Wray’s focus on partnerships brought about collective success for law enforcement across the world and a paradigm shift in FBI engagement with the private sector. As the landscape evolved, Wray implemented a new cyber strategy for the FBI, leveraging joint, sequenced operations with partners across the intelligence community at home and abroad and cutting-edge technology to stay ahead of the threats. Throughout his time with the FBI, he prioritized a fierce commitment to the rule of law and ensuring the FBI’s men and women were best prepared to tackle threats for generations to come.

Wray began his career in public service in 1997, serving in the Department of Justice as an assistant U.S. attorney in Atlanta and prosecuting a wide variety of federal criminal cases. In 2001, he was appointed associate deputy attorney general, and then principal associate deputy attorney general, in Washington, D.C., with responsibilities spanning the full Department. He played an integral role in the U.S. response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Wray was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2003 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate to be the assistant attorney general in charge of the criminal division, overseeing major national and international criminal investigations and prosecutions. At the conclusion of his tenure, Wray was awarded the Edmund J. Randolph Award, the Department’s highest award for leadership and public service, an honor that he received again 20 years later as FBI Director.

Between stints in public service, Wray spent almost 17 years at the international law firm of King & Spalding LLP, representing companies in government investigations. At the time of his nomination to be FBI Director, Wray chaired the firm’s special matters and government investigations practice group and had served multiple terms on the firm’s governing policy committee. He also helped found the Lead Director Network, a select group of lead directors, presiding directors, and non-executive chairs of Fortune 500 companies committed to improving the performance of their corporations and earning the trust of their shareholders through more effective board leadership. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and earned his law degree from Yale Law School. He is currently a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution.