Charles E. Morrison is an international affairs specialist with a PhD from the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies. In the 1970s, he was a US Senate legislative assistant focused on foreign, defence, and trade policy. He has been associated with the East-West Center in Honolulu since 1980, serving as president from 1998-2916. He was chair of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council from 2006 to 2012, and has also been a research fellow at the Japan Center for International Exchange.