Robert G. Joseph (born 1949, Williston, North Dakota) is a senior scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy and professor at Missouri State University. He was the United States Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation, with ambassadorial rank. Prior to this post, Dr. Joseph was the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, a position he held until January 24, 2007. Ambassador Joseph is well known for being instrumental in creating the Proliferation Security Initiative and as the architect of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. He was also the US chief negotiator to Libya in 2003 who convinced the Libyans to give up their WMD programs. He also recently authored a book describing his experience in negotiating with Libya entitled "Countering WMD." Ambassador Joseph was nominated to, and attended the United States Naval Academy (1967–1969), at the height of the Vietnam War. He earned a B.A. at St. Louis University in 1971, M.A. at the University of Chicago in 1973, and Ph.D at Columbia in 1978.