Frank G. Wisner

Frank George Wisner II (born 1938) is an American businessman and former diplomat. He is the son of Frank Wisner (1909–1965). On 31 January 2011, he was sent to Egypt by President Barack Obama to negotiate a resolution to the popular protests against the regime that have swept the country. A White House spokesman said that Wisner had vast experience in the region as well as close relationships with many Egyptians in and out of government. The New York Times reports that he is a personal friend of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Speaking on the BBC on February 5, 2011, he exceeded statements issued by the White House to date and insisted that President Mubarak should be allowed to remain in office despite widespread calls for him to step down.

Wisner was born in New York on 2 July 1938. He attended Woodberry Forest School, and then attended Princeton University, graduating in 1961. He joined the State Department as a Foreign Service Officer in December of that year.

In 1976, at the beginning of the Carter administration, he served under Cyrus Vance as Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department of State. Among his overseas assignments, Wisner served as the United States Ambassador to Zambia (1979–82); Egypt (1986–91), the Philippines (1991–92), and India, 1994-97.

After retiring from government service in 1997, Wisner joined the board at a subsidiary of Enron, the former energy company.

In late 2002, Wisner co-chaired an...
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