Former CIA head David Petraeus to speak at Four Arts in Palm Beach

Carol Rose, Palm Beach Daily News
·2 min read
Retired Gen. David Petraeus will give a talk called "American Leadership in the World" on Jan. 10 at the Society of the Four Arts.
Retired Gen. David Petraeus will give a talk called "American Leadership in the World" on Jan. 10 at the Society of the Four Arts.
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Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency David Petraeus will be in Palm Beach next week for The Society of the Four Arts Esther B. O’Keeffe Speakers Series.

Petraeus, who spent nearly four decades in the military, including as head of the 101st Airborne in Iraq and head of coalition forces in Iraq and commander of CENTCOM, will discuss why American global leadership is essential, and the new threats to the balance of power during a presentation titled "American Leadership in the World" at 3 p.m. Jan. 10, according to the Four Arts.

The event, which will be held in the Walter S. Gubelmann Auditorium, is fully booked, the Four Arts said.

Petraeus is a partner with the global investment firm KKR and chairman of the KKR Global Institute, which he established in May 2013.

More:Four Arts offers robust season of art, music, film and education

Petraeus served over 37 years in the U.S. military, culminating with six consecutive commands, five of which were in combat, including command of the 101st Airborne Division during the first year of the war in Iraq, command of the Multinational Security Transition Command in Iraq, command of coalition forces in Iraq during the Surge, command of U.S. Central Command, and command of coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Following retirement from the military, he served as CIA director from 2011 to 2012.

Petraeus graduated with distinction from the U.S. Military Academy, and he is the only person in Army history to be the top graduate of both the demanding U.S. Army Ranger School and the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College. He also earned a Ph.D. from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.

He is a visiting fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute, co-chairman of the Global Advisory Council of the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, senior vice president of the Royal United Services Institute and a member of the Trilateral Commission, as well as a member of the boards of the Atlantic Council, the Institute for the Study of War and over a dozen veterans service organizations.

Petraeus' numerous honors, awards, and decorations, include four Defense Distinguished Service Medals, the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, two NATO Meritorious Service Medals, the Combat Action Badge, the Ranger Tab, and Master Parachutist and Air Assault Badges.

In this photo released by the U.S. army, U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, left, and top U.S. military commander in Iraq, David Petraeus, ride inside a helicopter in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 21, 2008. Obama began Monday his first on-the-ground inspection of Iraq since launching his bid for the White House, with U.S. commanders ready to brief him on progress in a war he long opposed and Iraqi leaders wanting more details of his proposals for troop withdrawals. (AP Photo/Ssg. Lorie Jewell, HO)
In this photo released by the U.S. army, U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, right, is greeted by top U.S. military commander in Iraq, David Petraeus, center, upon his arrival to Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 21, 2008. Obama began Monday his first on-the-ground inspection of Iraq since launching his bid for the White House, with U.S. commanders ready to brief him on progress in a war he long opposed and Iraqi leaders wanting more details of his proposals for troop withdrawals. (AP Photo/Ssg. Lorie Jewell, HO)

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Former CIA head David Petraeus to speak at Four Arts in Palm Beach