Jerrold M. Post, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, Political Psychology and International Affairs died on November 22, 2020 at the age of 86. The cause of death was Covid-19 following a recent decline in health.
Dr. Post devoted his entire career to the field of political psychology. He came to the George Washington University after a 21 year career with the Central Intelligence Agency where he founded and directed the Center for the Analysis of Personality and Political Behavior, an interdisciplinary behavioral science unit which provided assessments of foreign leadership and decision making for the President and other senior officials to prepare for Summit meetings and other high level negotiations and for use in crisis situations. He played the lead role in developing the “Camp David profiles” of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat for President Jimmy Carter and initiated the U.S. government program in understanding the psychology of terrorism. In recognition of his leadership of the Center, Dr. Post was awarded the Intelligence Medal of Merit in 1979, and received the Studies in Intelligence Award in 1980. He received the Nevitt Sanford Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Political Psychology in 2002.
A founding member of the International Society of Political Psychology, Dr. Post was elected Vice-President in 1994, and served on the editorial board of Political Psychology since 1987.
The entire faculty and staff of the Elliott School expresses their condolences to the Post family in their loss and gratitude for Dr. Post’s long and dedicated service to furthering the work of the intelligence community and promoting a better understanding of how events unfold in the international arena.
Read more about Dr. Jerrold M. Post’s life and career in The Washington Post.