David Howell Petraeus is a retired United States Army General and public official.

He served as Director of the Central Intelligence AgencyPrior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus served 37 years in the United States Army. Petraeus has a B.S. degree from the United States Military Academy. He was the General George C. Marshall Award winner as the top graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College^] He subsequently earned an M.P.A.in 1985 and a Ph.D. degree in international relations in 1987 from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He later served as assistant professor of international relations at the United States Military Academy and also completed a fellowship at Georgetown University.