Darrin Stewart
Director, Office of Space Partnerships
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
Mr. Stewart is the Director for Space Partnerships in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). He has held this position since June 2023. In this capacity, Mr. Stewart supports the Secretary of Defense, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space and Missile Defense in the formulation and implementation of defense and security policy as it relates to the space domain. His principal responsibility is enabling the Department’s goals and objectives in space through cooperation with and integration of external stakeholders. These stakeholders include international partners and allies, the commercial space sector, the intelligence community, and U.S. civil space agencies, among others.
Prior to assuming this position, Mr. Stewart served as the Director for Korean Affairs from April through July 2023 within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs. In this role, he led the office responsible for security policy concerning both the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
From April 2018 until December 2019, Mr. Stewart served as Senior Country Director for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland within the Office for Europe and NATO Policy. In this position, he led the department’s efforts to forge novel areas of cooperation and advance the bilateral defense relationships with these two key European partners.
From October 2014 through April 2018, Mr. Stewart served as Senior Country Director for the Republic of Korea within OSD. In this position, he was responsible for providing guidance and advice on means of advancing bilateral defense relations with the ROK. From June 2017 until December 2017, amid presidential transitions in both the United States and the ROK, Mr. Stewart assumed the role of Acting Director for Korean Affairs. In this role, he added the DPRK to his portfolio, as well as the responsibility of day-to-day management of the Korea Policy Office.
While in OSD, Mr. Stewart has also served as a Desk Officer for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from October 2013 through October 2014, and as Desk Officer for the Israel and the Palestinian territories from April 2012 through October 2013.
Mr. Stewart began his career with OSD as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) in 2010. As a PMF, Mr. Stewart completed rotations in several OSD policy offices, including the Counter narcotics and Global Threats Office, and the Middle East Policy Office.
Mr. Stewart hails from Bovina, Mississippi. He and his wife, Shéhérazade, currently reside in Rockville, Maryland, with their son and daughter—Nora and Zachary Stewart. Mr. Stewart earned a Master’s Degree in Political Management from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi.
Related Sessions
New Generation Space Leaders: Leadership Exchange “Speed Mentoring”
Monday, April 8, 2024
2:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Track: New Generation Space Leaders