Paul Dundes Wolfowitz, born December 22, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York, is an American political scientist, diplomat, economist, and former government official known for his influential roles in U.S. defense and international development policy. The son of mathematician Jacob Wolfowitz, a Polish Jewish immigrant, and Lillian Dundes, he was raised in New York and Ithaca, where his father taught at Cornell University. Wolfowitz earned a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and chemistry from Cornell University in 1965 and a PhD in political science from the University of Chicago in 1972, studying under prominent scholars including Albert Wohlstetter. His academic career included teaching positions at Yale University and Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where he served as dean from 1994 to 2001.

Wolfowitz began his government service in the 1970s during the Nixon and Ford administrations, working at the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and the State Department. He rose to prominence in the Reagan administration, serving as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (1982–1986), Director of Policy Planning, and U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia from 1986 to 1989, managing complex relations under Suharto's authoritarian regime. Under President George H.W. Bush, he was Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 1989 to 1993.

A leading figure in neoconservative circles and a fellow alumnus of the Scoop Jackson network, Wolfowitz served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2005 under Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, where he was a key architect of the Iraq War and a member of the Vulcans advisory team. He oversaw the Office of Special Plans and championed U.S. interventionism, regime change, and military dominance based on intelligence about weapons of mass destruction later discredited. His foreign policy emphasized strong U.S.-Israel relations, democracy promotion, containment of adversaries, and unilateral preemptive action, as articulated in his 1992 "Wolfowitz Doctrine." He was a signatory of the Project for the New American Century and influenced post-9/11 U.S. policy in the Middle East and Central Asia, mentoring figures such as Zalmay Khalilzad.

Wolfowitz served as the 10th President of the World Bank from 2005 to 2007, focusing on poverty reduction and anti-corruption initiatives. His tenure ended prematurely amid controversy over allegations of favoritism toward his companion, Shaha Riza, leading to an ethics investigation and his resignation. Since then, he has remained active as a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and contributes to discussions on global security and economics through various think tanks. His career has been marked by controversy, including criticism for underestimating the challenges of post-invasion Iraq and for allegedly downplaying Indonesian corruption during his ambassadorship.