Walt Rostow

Walt Rostow
Rostow in 1968
6th United States National Security Advisor
In office April 1, 1966 – January 20, 1969
President	Lyndon B. Johnson
Deputy	Francis Bator
Preceded by	Mac Bundy
Succeeded by	Henry Kissinger
Counselor of the United States Department of State
In office December 4, 1961 – March 31, 1966
President	John F. Kennedy Lyndon Johnson
Preceded by	George McGhee
Succeeded by	Robert Bowie
Director of Policy Planning
In office December 4, 1961 – March 31, 1966
President	John F. Kennedy Lyndon Johnson
Preceded by	George McGhee
Succeeded by	Henry Owen
1st Deputy National Security Advisor
In office January 20, 1961 – December 4, 1961
President	John F. Kennedy
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Carl Kaysen
Personal details
Born	Walt Whitman Rostow (1916-10-07)October 7, 1916 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	February 13, 2003(2003-02-13) (aged 86) Austin, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Elspeth Davies
Children	2
Education	Yale University (BA, MA, PhD) Balliol College, Oxford (BLitt)

Walt Whitman Rostow /rahs-TOU/ OBE (October 7, 1916 – February 13, 2003) was an American economist, professor and political theorist who served as national security advisor to president of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson from 1966 to 1969.^[1][2]

Rostow worked in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II and later was a foreign policy adviser and speechwriter for presidential candidate and then President John F. Kennedy; he is often credited with writing Kennedy's famous "New Frontier" speech.^[3] Prominent for his role in shaping US foreign policy in Southeast Asia during the 1960s, he was a staunch anti-communist, noted for a belief in the efficacy of capitalism and free enterprise, and strongly supported US involvement in the Vietnam War. Rostow is known for his book The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto (1960), which was used in several fields of social science. Rostow's theories were embraced by many officials in both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations as a possible counter to the increasing popularity of communism in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

His elder brother Eugene Rostow also held a number of high government foreign policy posts.