Admiral Joseph W. Prueher served as Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China from November 1999 to May 2001. As Chief of the United States’ mission in China, he served two Presidents and was responsible for directing, coordinating and managing the activities of all United States Executive Branch activities in China. Prior to assuming duties in China, Admiral Prueher served as lecturer and Senior Advisor to the Stanford-Harvard Preventive Defense Program and as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Naval Analysis. Admiral Prueher completed thirty-five years of distinguished service in the United States Navy in May 1999. From 1996 to 1999 he was the 17th Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command (CINCPAC), the senior military commander of all the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force troops in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and their littoral areas. The largest military command in the world, CINCPAC spans over half the earth’s surface and includes over 300,000 people. In this capacity, Admiral Prueher worked with the Asia-Pacific civil and military leaders to promote collective security in the area. Prior to that, Admiral Prueher served as Commandant of Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis; Commander of Carrier Battle Group ONE based in San Diego; Commander of the US Mediterranean Sixth Fleet and of NATO Striking Forces based in Gaeta, Italy and as Vice Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon.