List of Columbia University people in politics, military and law

• Barack Obama (B.A. 1983) – 44th President of the United States (2009–2017), U.S. Senator from Illinois (2005–2008)
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Law 1904–1907; posthumous J.D., class of 1907) – 32nd President of the United States (1933–1945)
• Theodore Roosevelt (Law 1880–1881; posthumous J.D., class of 1882) – 26th President of the United States (1901–1909)

• Madeleine Albright – (Ph.D. 1976, LLD (hons.) 1995) Presidential Medal of Freedom (2012); 64th United States Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton (1997–2001), the first female Secretary of State[1]
• Michael Armacost – (Ph.D) Acting United States Secretary of State (1989); U.S. Ambassador to Japan (1989–1993); U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines (1982–1984)
• Harold Brown – (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.) 14th United States Secretary of Defense in the Carter administration; Secretary of the Air Force; former president, Caltech
• Elaine Chao – (graduate study) 24th United States Secretary of Labor (2001–2009); Deputy Secretary of Labor; former Director, Peace Corps
• Bainbridge Colby – (J.D. 1891) 43rd United States Secretary of State; founder, 1912 Progressive Party
• Jacob M. Dickinson – (Law, attended) 44th United States Secretary of War (1909–1911)
• Hamilton Fish – (B.A. 1827) 26th United States Secretary of State (1869–1877)
• Charles Forbes – first Director (Secretary) of the U.S. Veterans' Bureau (predecessor of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs) (1921–1923)
• James Rudolph Garfield – (J.D. 1888) 23rd United States Secretary of the Interior (1907–09), United States Civil Service Commission (1902–1903)
• George Graham – ( B.A. 1790) United States Secretary of War ad interim (1816–1817) under Presidents James Madison and James Monroe
• John Graham – (B.A. 1790) Acting United States Secretary of State (1817)
• Alexander Haig – (CBS 1955) 59th United States Secretary of State in Ronald Reagan's administration
• Alexander Hamilton – (1774 matriculated, studies interrupted by Revolutionary War) First United States Secretary of Treasury (1789–1795); co-author of The Federalist Papers
• James Alexander Hamilton – (B.A.) Acting United States Secretary of State to President Andrew Jackson
• Charles Evans Hughes – (J.D. 1884) 44th United States Secretary of State (1921–1925), Associate and Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
• John Jay – (B.A. 1764) Acting United States Secretary of State (1789–90); Sixth President of the Continental Congress (1778–1779); Second United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs (1784–89); Acting United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs (1789); co-author of The Federalist Papers
• Jeh Johnson – (J.D.) Nominee, United States Secretary of Homeland Security (2013–)
• Robert R. Livingston – (B.A. 1765) First United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs (1781–1783)
• Franklin MacVeagh – (J.D. 1864) 45th United States Secretary of the Treasury (1909–13)
• F. David Mathews – (Ph.D. 1975) 11th Secretary of United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare under Gerald Ford (1975–1977); President, University of Alabama
• Rogers Morton – (CUCP&S–attended) Special Counselor to President Gerald Ford (with Cabinet rank); 39th United States Secretary of the Interior (1971–1975); 22nd United States Secretary of Commerce (1975–1976); chairman of the Republican National Committee
• Jim Nicholson – (M.A.) 5th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (2005–2007) under George W. Bush
• Frances Perkins – (M.A.) 4th United States Secretary of Labor (1933–1945), first female cabinet member; United States Civil Service Commission (1946–1953)
• Frank Polk – (LL.B. 1897) Acting United States Secretary of State (1920); Under Secretary of State (1919–1920); headed American Commission to Negotiate Peace (1919)
• Maurice H. Stans – (1928–30) 19th United States Secretary of Commerce (1969–72); Director, Office of Management and Budget (Cabinet rank) (1958–1961)
• Walter Stoessel – (graduate study) Acting United States Secretary of State; 7th United States Deputy Secretary of State (February 11, 1982 – September 22, 1982)
• Oscar S. Straus – (B.A. 1871, J.D.1873) 3rd United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor (1906–09), the first Jewish Presidential Cabinet Secretary
• William H. Woodin – (B.A. 1890) 51st United States Secretary of the Treasury under Franklin Roosevelt; directed Administration's declaration and enforcement of a "Bank Holiday" and taking U.S. off international gold standard

• William Pelham Barr – (B.A. 1971, M.A. 1973) 77th and 85th United States Attorney General; (1991–1993; 2019–Present); 24th United States Deputy Attorney General (1990–1991)
• Eric Holder – (B.A. 1973, J.D. 1976) 82nd United States Attorney General (2009–2015); first African-American Attorney General; former Acting United States Attorney General in Clinton Administration (2001); 28th United States Deputy Attorney General (1997–2001)
• Joseph McKenna – (before taking seat on U.S. Supreme Court, studied at Columbia Law while AG) 42nd Attorney General of the United States (1897–1898)
• Michael Mukasey – (B.A. 1963) 81st United States Attorney General (2007–2009), former U.S. District Judge and Chief Judge
• Harlan Fiske Stone – (LL.B. 1898) 52nd United States Attorney General (1924–1925); Associate and Chief Justice of U.S. Supreme Court
• Harold R. Tyler, Jr. – (J.D. 1949) 14th United States Deputy Attorney General (2nd ranking official in the U.S. Department of Justice) (1975–1977)
• Lawrence Edward Walsh – (A.B. 1932, LL.B. 1935) 4th United States Deputy Attorney General (1957–1960)

• Madeleine Albright – (Certificate in Russian language, M.A., Ph.D.) United States Ambassador to the United Nations (Cabinet rank) (1997–2001); Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Erskine Bowles – (M.B.A.) former White House Chief of Staff (Cabinet rank); Administrator of the Small Business Administration (Cabinet rank); co-chair, President Barack Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform with Alan K. Simpson
• Arthur Frank Burns – (B.A. 1925, M.A. 1925, Ph.D. 1934) Austrian-born U.S. economist; Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers (Cabinet rank) (1953–56)
• Alan Greenspan (studied for a Ph.D. in economics) – former Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers (1974–1977); Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Alexander Haig – (CBS 1955) twice White House Chief of Staff (Cabinet rank) under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford
• Fred Hochberg – (M.B.A.) Administrator of the Small Business Administration (Cabinet rank) (2009–)
• Leon Keyserling – (A.B. 1928) Chairman (1950–1953), Acting Chairman (1949), Council of Economic Advisers under President Harry S. Truman; helped draft major New Deal legislation, including National Industrial Recovery Act, Social Security Act, and the National Labor Relations Act
• Jeane Kirkpatrick – (Ph.D. 1968, political science) United States Ambassador to the United Nations under Reagan (1981–1985); Presidential Medal of Freedom
• James F. Leonard – (1963–64) United States Ambassador to the United Nations (1977–1979)
• Arthur M. Okun – (B.A., Ph.D.) Chairman (1968–69), member (1964–69), Council of Economic Advisers
• William K. Reilly – (M.S. 1971) 7th Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Cabinet rank) (1989–93)
• Theodore Roosevelt – (Law) 25th Vice-President of the United States
• Raymond J. Saulnier – (Ph.D. 1938) Chairman (1956–1961), member (1955–1956), Council of Economic Advisers
• Daniel D Tompkins – (B.A. 1795) 6th Vice-President of the United States
• Russell E. Train – (J.D. 1948) 2nd Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (1973–77); Chairman, newly formed President's Council on Environmental Quality (1970–73); Under Secretary, United States Department of the Interior (1967–1970); Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Murray Weidenbaum – (M.A.) Chairman, President Ronald Reagan's first Council of Economic Advisers

• George Tenet – (M.I.A.) 18th Director of Central Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency (1997–2004) (Cabinet Rank: 1995–2001); Presidential Medal of Freedom (2004)
• William Colby – ( Law) 10th Director of Central Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford
• William Joseph Donovan – (Law 1908) Medal of Honor; known as Father of the Central Intelligence Agency; founder and first director of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) (formed during World War II), the predecessor of the CIA

• Lanny A. Breuer (B.A. 1980, J.D. 1985) – Special White House Counsel (1997–99); Head, Criminal Division, Department of Justice (2009–)
• Harry McPherson (1949–1950) – White House Counsel & Special Counsel under President Lyndon Johnson (1963–69)
• Bernard Nussbaum (B.A.) – White House Counsel under President Bill Clinton
• David B. Rivkin (J.D.) – Legal Advisor to White House Counsel of then President Reagan; Deputy Director, White House Office of Policy Development (OPD)
• Samuel I. Rosenman (J.D. 1919) – first White House Counsel (1943–46)
• Charles F.C. Ruff (J.D. 1963) – White House Counsel under Bill Clinton; in Watergate scandal, Special Prosecutor who investigated President Richard Nixon; represented Anita Hill (vs. Clarence Thomas) and Bill Clinton (impeachment)
• Bernard M. Shanley (B.A.) – Special Counsel, White House (1953–55); White House Deputy Chief of Staff (1955–57)
• Robert Delahunty (B.A.) – Deputy General Counsel, White House Office of Homeland Security (2002–03)
• Joel Klein (B.A.) – Deputy White House Counsel under President Bill Clinton
• Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. (J.D.) – Deputy White House Counsel under President Barack Obama

• Jared Bernstein (PhD social welfare)-Chief Economist and Economic Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden in the Obama Administration
• Pat Buchanan (M.A. Journalism) – White House Communications Director (1985–1987); coined the phrase "Silent Majority"; speechwriter for President Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew; senior advisor, three U.S. presidents, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan
• Arthur F. Burns (B.A., Ph.D. 1934) – 10th Chairman, United States Federal Reserve System under Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter (1970–1978)
• Jonathan W. Daniels (failed out, CLS) – White House Press Secretary under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman
• Stephen Friedman (J.D. 1962) – Director, United States National Economic Council (2002–05); Chairman, U.S. President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (2005–09)
• Alan Greenspan (studied for a Ph.D. in economics) – 13th and second-longest-serving Chairman, United States Federal Reserve System under three Presidents (1987–06)
• Alexander Haig (CBS 1955) – Deputy National Security Advisor (1973–75); Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, the second-highest ranking officer in the Army (1973)
• Fred Hochberg (CBS) – Chairman, Export-Import Bank of the United States (2009–)
• Carl Kaysen (graduate study, 1940–46) – Deputy National Security Advisor (1961–63)
• Michael E. Leiter (B.A. 1991) – Director of the United States National Counterterrorism Center (2007–2011)
• Harold F. Linder (B.A., Ph.D.) – Chairman, Export-Import Bank of the United States (1961–1968)
• William McChesney Martin (grad. study in economics 1931–37) – 9th and longest-serving Chairman, United States Federal Reserve System under five Presidents (1951–70); Chairman, Export-Import Bank of the United States (1946–1949)
• Kathleen McGinty (J.D.) – Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (1995–1998); founding Director, White House Office on Environmental Policy
• William Eldridge Odom – (M.S. 1962, Ph.D. 1970) former Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) under President Ronald Reagan
• Frank Press (M.A. 1946, Ph.D. 1949) – Science Advisor to President Jimmy Carter and Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (1976–1980)
• Isadore I. Rabi (Ph.D.) – Science Advisor to President Eisenhower and Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (1956–1957)
• Brent Scowcroft (M.A., Ph.D.) – 9th & 17th United States National Security Advisor (1975–77; 1989–93); Chairman, U.S. President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (2001–05); Deputy National Security Advisor (1970–75)
• George Stephanopoulos (B.A., salutatorian, 1982) – initially de facto White House Press Secretary, later Senior Advisor to the President Bill Clinton
• Harold E. Varmus (M.D.) – one of three co-chairs, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2009–)
• Samuel V. Wilson – former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; coined the term "counterinsurgency"
• Kenneth J. Arrow (M.A., Ph.D.) – Richard Nixon's Council of Economic Advisers
• Daniel Fried – (M.I.A. 1977) – Special Envoy to Guantanamo (2009–);Special Assistant to the President and member, United States National Security Council (2001–2005)
• Toby Gati (M.A. 1970, M.I.A. 1972) – Special Assistant to the President and member, United States National Security Council (1993)
• M.R.C. Greenwood (postdoctoral study) – Associate Director for Science, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy during the Clinton Administration
• Matt Latimer (M.S.) – Special Assistant to the President for Speechwriting during the administration of President George W. Bush
• Kenneth Lieberthal (M.A., Ph.D. 1972) – Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director, U.S. National Security Council during the Clinton Administration
• Michel Oksenberg (M.A. 1963, Ph.D. 1969) – member, United States National Security Council; closely involved in normalization of U.S.-China relations undertaken during the administration of President Jimmy Carter
• Paul Seabury (Ph.D.) – U.S. President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board; 1964 Bancroft Prize
• Gary Sick (Ph.D. 1973) – U.S. National Security Council under Presidents Ford, Carter, and Reagan; principal White House aide for Persian Gulf affairs (1976–1981) (including Iranian revolution and the hostage crisis)
• Robert Suettinger – (M.A.) President Bill Clinton's national intelligence officer for East Asia at the National Intelligence Council (1997–1998)
• Paul Weinstein (M.A.) – Special Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, White House Domestic Policy Council during the Clinton Administration
• Marina von Neumann Whitman (M.A. 1959, Ph.D. 1962) – member, Richard Nixon's Council of Economic Advisers (1973–74)
• Mark Barnes (LL.M. 1991) – member, National Health Care Reform Task Force under President Bill Clinton
• Jared Bernstein (M.A., Ph.D. 1994) – member, Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry; Executive Director, White House Middle Class Working Families Task Force; Chief Economist and Economic Policy Advisor to Vice President Joseph Biden in the administration of President Barack Obama (2009–11)
• Ursula Burns (M.S. 1981) – Vice-Chairman, Obama Administration's Export Council (2010–)
• Mark Gallogly (M.B.A.) – Barack Obama's President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
• Ulysses S. Grant, Jr. (Law) – personal secretary, President Ulysses S. Grant
• Ken Khachigian (J.D 1969) – speechwriter for President Richard Nixon, Chief speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan
• Charles Edward Merriam (M.A. 1897, Ph.D., political science, 1900) – advisor to several presidents, including Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Raymond Moley (Ph.D. 1918) – Presidential Medal of Freedom (1970); senior adviser, Franklin D. Roosevelt; a leading New Dealer; leading member of first Brain Trust; recruited its members from Columbia faculty; later became sharp critic of New Deal
• Dick Morris (B.A. 1967) – Chief political advisor to President Bill Clinton in his first term; first use of term triangulation
• Lynn Forester de Rothschild (J.D.) – United States Secretary of Energy Advisory Board under President Bill Clinton
• Ben Stein (B.A. 1966) – speechwriter and lawyer for President Richard Nixon and later for President Gerald Ford
• Rexford Tugwell (Ph.D.) – part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "Brain Trust", and was one of the chief intellectual contributors to his New Deal
• Michael Waldman (B.A.) – Director of Speechwriting for President Clinton (1995–99)
• Harry Dexter White – senior Treasury official for Franklin D. Roosevelt, helped found World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF); alleged in Venona list to be Soviet spy

• Antony John 'Tony' Blinken (1988) – National Security Advisor to Vice President Joseph Biden (2009–)
• John Collier – United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs (1933–1945), implemented reform of federal Indian policy
• William O. Douglas (1925) – third Chairman, United States Securities and Exchange Commission (1936–39)
• Nathan Feinsinger (Law, post-graduate study) – former Chairman, United States Wage Stabilization Board
• Joseph F. Finnegan (1904–1964) – fourth Director, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (1955–1961)[2]
• William Dudley Foulke (1871) – Commissioner, United States Civil Service Commission
• Tom Frieden (M.D., MPH) – Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2009–); Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (2009–)
• Robert A. Frosch (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.) – Fifth Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (1977–1981)
• Harvey Goldschmid (1965) – Commissioner (2002–05), and previously General Counsel, special adviser to Chairman, United States Securities and Exchange Commission
• Julius Genachowski (B.A.) – Chairman, United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) (2009–)
• Henry Clay Hall (1883) – twice Chairman (1917–1918, 1924), Commissioner (1914–1928), Interstate Commerce Commission
• John D. Hawke, Jr. (1960) – United States Comptroller of the Currency (1998–2004); Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance (1995–1998)
• Joseph Hendrie (Ph.D. 1957) – former Chairman, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Edward Hidalgo (J.D. 1936) – Secretary of the Air Force (1979–1981); Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) (1977–1979)
• Robert Karem  – (B.A. 2000) Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
• William Kovacic (1978) – Chairman (2008–2009), Commissioner (2006–2009), Federal Trade Commission
• Craig E. Leen (J.D. 2000) – Director, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, U.S. Department of Labor (2018-21)[3]
• Michael E. Leiter (B.A.) – Director, United States National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), during capture of Osama bin Laden (2007–)
• Irving Lewis "Scooter" Libby (1975) – Chief of Staff, Vice President Dick Cheney (2001–05); convicted on obstruction of justice charges for his role in Plame affair (2007)
• Charles E. F. Millard – Director, United States Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (2007–09)
• Michael Mundaca (B.A.) – former Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy in the U.S. Department of the Treasury
• Annette Nazareth – Commissioner, United States Securities and Exchange Commission (2005–08)
• Myrna Pérez (2003) – nominee, Commissioner, Election Assistance Commission (2011–)[4]
• Robert Pitofsky – Chairman (1995–2001), Commissioner (1978–81), Federal Trade Commission
• Donald A. Quarles (graduate studies) – Secretary of the Air Force; Medal of Freedom; Deputy Secretary of Defense (2nd ranking official in Department of Defense);
• Thomasina V. Rogers (1976 J.D.), Chairman (2009–; 1999–02), Commissioner (2009–; 03–09; 1998–03) U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; first woman designated Chairman; only African American to serve on the Commission.[5][6]
• William E. Simkin (student) – fifth Director, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, longest-serving Director (1961–1969)
• Mozelle Thompson (1981 J.D.) – Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission (1997–2004)[7][8]
• Harold Varmus (M.D.) – Director, National Cancer Institute (2010–); Director, National Institutes of Health (1993–99); Nobel Laureate
• Mary Jo White (1974), Chairman (2013–), Commissioner (2013–), United States Securities and Exchange Commission
• Ambassador, Karan K. Bhatia (J.D.) – Deputy United States Trade Representative (2nd ranking official in the U.S. Office of Trade Representative) (2005–)[9][10]
• Frank Blake (J.D. 1976) – Deputy United States Secretary of Energy (2nd ranking official in the U.S. Department of Energy)
• Reuben Clark (J.D.) – Under Secretary of State (from 1919 to 1972, 2nd ranking official in the U.S. Department of State)
• Carol A. DiBattiste (LL.M. 1986) – former United States Under Secretary of the Air Force (2nd highest civilian official in the U.S. Department of the Air Force) (1999–2001)
• Eric Hargan (J.D.) – Acting Deputy Secretary, United States Department of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush
• John C. Inglis (M.S. Mech. Eng. 1977) – former Deputy Director, National Security Agency (2006–2014)
• Robert Joseph (1978 Ph.D.) – Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security (2005–2007)
• Madeleine Kunin (M.A.) – United States Deputy Secretary of Education (2nd ranking official in the U.S. Department of Education) (1993–1997)
• James T. O'Connell (B.A.) – United States Deputy Secretary of Labor (1957–1962)
• Randal Quarles (B.A.) – Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance (2005–2006)
• George Lockhart Rives (B.A. 1868, LL.B.1873) – United States Assistant Secretary of State (1853–1913, 2nd ranking official in the U.S. Department of State) (1887–89)
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Law 1904–1907; posthumous J.D., class of 1907)[11] – U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Navy (from 1861 to 1954, second highest civilian office in Department of the Navy – reporting to U.S. Secretary of the Navy who until 1947 was a member of the President's Cabinet)
• Theodore Roosevelt (Law 1880–1881; posthumous J.D., class of 1882)[11] – U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Navy
• James P. Rubin (B.A. 1982, M.A. 1984) – Chief Spokesperson for the State Department, considered Secretary Albright's right-hand man in Clinton Administration; United States Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs (1997–2000)
• Joan E. Spero (M.A.-Internatl. Aff., 1968; Ph.D. 1973) – Under Secretary of State (1993–97)
• John J. Sullivan (J.D. 1985) – United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce (2nd ranking official in the U.S. Department of Commerce) (2008–2009)
• J. Mayhew Wainwright (J.D. 1886) – U.S. Assistant Secretary of War (2nd ranking official in the U.S. Department of War until 1940) (1921–1923)
• Tracy Voorhees (J.D. 1915), Under Secretary of the United States Army (2nd ranking official in the U.S. Army) (1949–50)

• Lloyd Wheaton Bowers (J.D.) – United States Solicitor General (1909–1910)
• Charles Fried (J.D.) – United States Solicitor General (1985–1989); Acting Solicitor General; Deputy Solicitor General
• Daniel M. Friedman (A.B., J.D.) – Acting United States Solicitor General (1977); First Deputy Solicitor General
• Stanley Foreman Reed (J.D.) – United States Solicitor General (1935–1938)
• Donald Verrilli Jr. (J.D.) – United States Solicitor General (2011–); United States Deputy Attorney General; Deputy Counsel to the President
• R. Kent Greenawalt (J.D.) – Deputy United States Solicitor General (1971–1972)

• Samuel Blatchford – United States Supreme Court Justice
• Benjamin Cardozo – U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• William O. Douglas – U.S. Supreme Court Justice; Chairman, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); professor of law, Columbia and Yale law schools
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg – Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; Judge, D.C. Circuit Court; former professor at Columbia Law School
• Neil Gorsuch – Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• Charles Evans Hughes – Associate and Chief Justice of U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Secretary of State; Governor of New York; Republican candidate for President of the United States in 1916 (against Wilson and Roosevelt)
• John Jay – first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; Governor of New York
• Joseph McKenna – (studied at Columbia Law) Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1892–1897)
• Stanley Forman Reed – U.S. Supreme Court Justice; Solicitor General of the United States
• Harlan Fiske Stone – Associate and Chief Justice of U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Attorney General; Professor and Dean, Columbia Law School

See also: Notable alumni of Columbia Law School (Federal judges and State government) and Columbia College of Columbia University (Legal and judicial figures) for additional listing of more than 86 federal judge positions and 26 state supreme court justices (total more than 96 federal and 34 state judgeships)

• Sheila Abdus-Salaam – (J.D. 1977) first African American female judge to serve on the New York Court of Appeals
• George Moe – (LL.M.) Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Belize (1982–85); Justice, Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (1985–1991)
• Susan Denham – (LL.M.) 11th Chief Justice (2011–), Associate Justice (1992–2011), Supreme Court of Ireland, first female Chief Justice; longest-serving member of court
• Hironobu Takesaki – (LL.M. 1971) 17th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan (the highest court in the country of Japan) (2008–)
• Umu Hawa Tejan-Jalloh – (LL.M.) Chief Justice (2008–), Associate Justice (2002–2008), Supreme Court of Sierra Leone
• Joaquim Barbosa – (visiting scholar, CLS, 1999, 2000) Chief Justice of Brazil (2012–); only black Supreme Federal Court justice minister in Brazil
• Karin Maria Bruzelius – (LL.M. 1969) Justice, Supreme Court of Sweden (the highest court in the country of Sweden) (1997–); Swedish Under Secretary of State (the first woman to hold such a position) (1989–1997), Swedish Deputy Under Secretary of State (1979–1983)
• Lawrence Collins, Baron Collins of Mapesbury – (LL.M.) former Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (2009–2011);[12] Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2009); Lord Justice of Appeal (2007–09); Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (see the Privy Council) (February 2007–); judge, High Court of England and Wales (2000)
• Jaime Fuster – (LL.M. 1966) Associate Justice, Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (the highest court of the island) (1992–2007)
• Marvic Mario Victor F. Leonen – (LL.M.) Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the Philippines (the country's highest court) (2012–)[13]
• Liana Fiol Matta – (LL.M., S.J.D.) second woman in Puerto Rican history to serve as Associate Justice, Supreme Court of Puerto Rico (as of 2011)
• John T. McDonough – (LL.B. 1861) appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt as Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the Philippines (the country's highest court)
• Francis M. Ssekandi – (LL.M.) former Justice, Supreme Court of Uganda (the highest court in the country of Uganda); Judge, World Bank Administrative Tribunal (2007–)
• Richard Whitehead Young – (LL.B. 1884) appointed by President William McKinley as Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the Philippines; also a U.S. Army Brigadier General
• Shi Jiuyong – (LL.M. 1951) former President, U.N. International Court of Justice (2003–2010); former Chairman, International Law Commission
• Xue Hanqin – (LL.M. 1983, J.S.D. 1995) Judge, U.N. International Court of Justice (2010–); Chinese diplomat and international law expert[14][15]
• John Patrick Hartigan – (A.M. 1913, LL.B.1913) Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island[16]
• Charles Evans Hughes – Judge, Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague, Netherlands (1928–1930)
• Philip Jessup – (Ph.D.) Judge, International Court of Justice (1961–1970), namesake of Philip C. Jessup Cup
• V.K. Wellington Koo – (B.A., Ph.D.) Judge, International Court of Justice (1957–1967), former President of the Republic of China, Premier of the Republic of China and Chinese ambassador to the United States
• Sean Murphy (J.D. 1985), nominee, U.N. International Law Commission (2011–)[17][18]
• Rolando Acosta – (B.A., J.D.) First Dominican-American Elected Judge in the U.S.; currently serving in the Appellate Division 1st Department (New York and Bronx Counties)
• Willard Bartlett – (B.A.) Chief Judge, New York Court of Appeals (the highest court in the state of NY) (1914–1916)
• Egbert Benson – (1765) Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; 1st Attorney General of the State of New York; Chief Justice, Supreme Court of New York
• Samuel Blatchford – (1837) Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
• José A. Cabranes – (1961) United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; 1st Puerto Rican, U.S. District Courts, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
• Edgar M. Cullen – (B.A. 1860) Chief Judge, New York Court of Appeals (1904–1913)
• Paul S. Diamond – (B.A. 1974) judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• John J. "Jack" Farley, III – (M.B.A. 1966) former judge, United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
• Neil Gorsuch – (B.A.) judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (2006–)
• Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr. – (B.A. 1978) judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (2010–); United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (1996–10)
• Murray Gurfein – federal judge, Pentagon Papers case; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
• Eric Holder – (B.A.1973, J.D. 1976) judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Deputy U.S. Attorney General
• Denis Reagan Hurley – (M.B.A.) judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• Samuel Jones – (1790) Fifth Chancellor of New York; ex officio member, New York Court of Appeals
• Robert Katzmann – (A.B. 1973) judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Robert Livingston (1746–1813) – First Chancellor of New York, administered oath of office to President George Washington, negotiated the Louisiana Purchase
• Constance Baker Motley – (L.L.B. 1946) First African-American woman federal court judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York; New York State senator; Manhattan Borough President
• Michael Mukasey – (1963) Chief Judge (2000–06), judge (1987–2000), United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
• Deborah Poritz – (graduate study) Chief Justice, New Jersey Supreme Court (1996–06); Attorney General of New Jersey (1994–96); first woman to serve in each position
• Richard Roberts – (J.D. 1978) judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia
• William Francis Smith – (B.A.) judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and United States District Court for the District of New Jersey; U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey
• Eric T. Washington – (J.D. 1979) Chief Judge, District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the highest appellate court for the District of Columbia
• Lawrence Aloysius Whipple – (B.A. 1933) Chief judge (1974–1978), judge (1967–1983), United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
• Augustus B. Woodward – (B.A. 1793) first Chief Justice, Michigan Territory; appointed by President Thomas Jefferson; with the governor and two associate justices possessed all the legislative power in the Territory from 1805 until 1824; co-founded the University of Michigan

See also: Notable alumni of Columbia Law School (Legislative branch) and Columbia College of Columbia University (United States Political figures) for additional listing of more than 40 U.S. Senators.

• Alva B. Adams (1899), United States Senator from Colorado (1923–24, 1933–41)
• Johnson N. Camden Jr., senator from Kentucky (1914–15)
• DeWitt Clinton – U.S. Senator from New York
• Clifford P. Case (1928), senator (1955–79) from New Jersey
• LeBaron B. Colt (1870), senator from Rhode Island (1913–1924)
• Paul Douglas – (M.A. 1915; Ph.D. 1921) U.S. Senator from Illinois (1949–1967)
• Hamilton Fish – U.S. Senator from New York
• Slade Gorton (1953), senator from Washington (1981–1987, 1989–2001)
• Frank Porter Graham – (grad. degree ?, 1916) U.S. Senator from North Carolina (1949–51)
• Mike Gravel – (B.S. 1956) Democratic Senator from Alaska (1969–1981), candidate for the 2008 U.S. presidential election
• Judd Gregg – (B.A. 1969) Republican Senator from New Hampshire (1993–2011)
• Frederick Hale (1896–97), senator from Maine (1917–1941)
• Lister Hill (left 1915), senator (1938–69) from Alabama
• Jacob Javits – (School of General Studies) Presidential Medal of Freedom; Republican Senator from New York (1957–1981); Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; New York State Attorney General
• John Kean (1875), senator from New Jersey (1899–1911)[19]
• Richard C. Hunter (1911), senator from Nebraska (1934–35)
• William Langer – U.S. Senator from North Dakota, Attorney General of North Dakota
• Frank Lautenberg – (B.Sc. 1949, economics) Democratic Senator from New Jersey (1982–2001; 2003–), Chairman and CEO of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP)
• Luke Lea (1903), senator from Tennessee (1911–17)
• Thomas E. Martin ( LL.M. 1928), senator (1955–61) from Iowa
• Jack Miller (1946), senator from Iowa (1961–1973)
• Gouverneur Morris – (B.A. 1768, M.A. 1771) U.S. Senator from New York, author of large sections of the United States Constitution
• Dwight Morrow (1898?), senator from New Jersey (1930–31)
• Wayne Morse (S.J.D. 1932), senator from Oregon (1945–69)
• Karl Earl Mundt – (M.A. 1927) U.S. Senator (1948–1973) and Congressman (1939–1948) from South Dakota
• Barack Obama – (B.A. 1983) U.S. Senator from Illinois (2005–2008)
• Joseph C. O'Mahoney – (B.A.) U.S. Senator from Wyoming (1934–53;1954–61)
• Frank C. Partridge (1864), senator from Vermont (1930–31)
• Claiborne Pell – (M.A. 1946) U.S. Senator from Rhode Island (1961–1997), sponsor of the Pell Grant
• John Patton Jr. (1877), senator from Michigan (1894–95)
• John Slidell – (B.A. 1810) U.S. Senator from Louisiana (1853–61)
• Howard Alexander Smith (1908), senator from New Jersey (1944–59)
• Richard Stone (1954), senator from Florida (1975–80)
• Arthur Vivian Watkins, senator from New York (1947–59)
• George P. Wetmore (1869), senator from Rhode Island (1895–1907; 1908–13)
• Harrison A. Williams (1948), senator (1959–82) from New Jersey

See also: Notable alumni of Columbia Law School (Legislative branch) and Columbia College of Columbia University (United States Political figures) for additional listing of more than 95 U.S. Congresspersons.

• Bella Abzug – congresswoman from New York (1971–77) and leader of the women's movement
• John J. Adams – congressman from New York (1883–85;1885–87)
• Homer D. Angell – (1903), congressman from Oregon (1939–1955)
• Martin C. Ansorge – (1906), congressman from New York (1921–23)
• Edward Basset – (1886), congressman from New York (1903–1905), founding father, modern urban planning, developed "freeway", "parkway" concepts, coined term "freeway"
• Perry Belmont – (1876), congressman from New York (1880–88)
• Egbert Benson – (B.A. 1765), served in the First and Second United States Congresses
• Fred Biermann – (B.A. 1905), Congressman from Iowa (1933–1939)
• Loring Black – congressman from New York (1923–35)
• Robert William Bonynge – (LL.B. 1885), congressman from Colorado (1904–1909)
• William Samuel Booze – (M.D.1882), congressman from the Maryland (1897–1899)
• Frank T. Bow – congressman from Ohio (1951–72)
• Lloyd Bryce – congressman from New York (1887–1889)
• Eric Cantor – (M.S. 1989), 27th House Majority Leader, congressman from Virginia (2001–present)
• John F. Carew – (B.A. 1893, LL.M. 1896), congressman from New York (1913–1929)
• Clifford P. Case – (1928), congressman (1945–53) and senator (1955–79) from New Jersey
• Emanuel Celler – (1912), congressman from New York (1923–1973)
• Shirley Chisholm – (M.Ed. Teacher's College), First African American woman elected to congress; represented Brooklyn, New York in congress for seven terms; first African American and first woman to make a serious bid for the presidency of the United States
• Alexander Gilmore Cochran – congressman from Pennsylvania (1875–77)
• Frederic René Coudert, Jr. – (B.A. 1918; J.D. 1922), congressman from New York (1947–1959)
• Robert Crosser – (transferred), congressman from Ohio (1913–1919, 1923–1955)
• Robert Daniel, Jr. – (M.B.A.) congressman from Virginia (1972–1983)
• Colgate Darden – (1923), congressman from Virginia (1933–37, 1939–41); Governor of Virginia (1942–46); chancellor, the College of William and Mary (1946–47); president, the University of Virginia (1947–59); namesake, Darden Graduate School of Business Administration
• Frederick Morgan Davenport – (1905) congressman from New York (1925–1933)
• Rosa DeLauro – (M.A.) congressman from Connecticut (1991–)
• Millicent Fenwick – (B.A.), four term congresswoman from New Jersey (1975–1983)
• Hamilton Fish II – (1873), congressman from New York (1909–11)
• Ashbel P. Fitch – congressman from New York (1887–1893)
• Frank T. Fitzgerald – (1876), congressman from New York (1889)
• De Witt C. Flanagan – (c. 1892), represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district from 1902 to 1903.;[20] built and operated Cape Cod Canal
• Wallace T. Foote, Jr. – congressman from New York (1895–1899)
• George E. Foss – (attended), congressman from Illinois (1895–1913; 1915–1919)
• Samuel Fowler – unspecified, represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district as the U.S. Representative from 1889–1893.[21] Built and operated Cape Cod Canal
• Jaime Fuster – (LL.M. 1966), representative from Puerto Rico's at large district (1985–1992)
• Ralph A. Gamble – (1912), congressman from New York (1937–45; 1945–53; 1953–57)
• Fred Benjamin Gernerd – (1924), congressman from Pennsylvania (1921–23)
• Judd Gregg – (B.A. 1969), congressman from New Hampshire (1981–89)
• Percy W. Griffiths – (M.A. 1930), congressman from Ohio (1943–1949)
• James R. Grover, Jr. – (1949), congressman from New York (1963–75)
• Ralph W. Gwinn – (LL.M. 1908), congressman from New York (1945–1959)
• Seymour Halpern – (1932–1934), congressman from New York (1953–1973)
• George Sydney Hawkins – (B.A.), congressman from Florida (1857–1861)
• Ken Hechler – (M.A., Ph.D.), congressman from West Virginia (1959–1977); West Virginia Secretary of State (1985–2001)
• Thomas Hedge – (LL.B. 1869), congressman from Iowa (1899–1907)
• Lewis Henry – (LL.B. 1911), congressman from New York (1922–1923)
• Abram Stevens Hewitt – (1842), congressman from New York (1875–1879, 1881–1887); Mayor of New York; "Father of the New York City Subway System"
• Lister Hill – (left 1915), congressman (1923–38) and senator (1938–69) from Alabama
• Hal Holmes – (B.A. 1927), congressman from Washington (1943–1959)
• Ogden Hoffman – (B.A. 1927), congressman from New York (1837–1841)
• Theodore Gaillard Hunt – (LL.B.), congressman from Louisiana (1853–1855)
• Andy Ireland – (grad studies), congressman from Florida (1981–1993)
• Jacob Javits – (School of General Studies), Presidential Medal of Freedom; Republican Senator from New York (1957–1981); member, U.S. House of Representatives; New York State Attorney General
• Hamilton C. Jones – (J.D. 1907) congressman from North Carolina (1947–1953)
• John Kean – (1875), senator and congressman from New Jersey (1899–1911)[19]
• Martin John Kennedy – (1909), congressman from New York (1930–1945)
• Cyrus King – (B.A. 1794) congressman from Massachusetts (1813–1817)
• Peter H. Kostmayer – (B.A. 1971) congressman from Pennsylvania (1977–1993)
• Theodore R. Kupferman – congressman from New York (1966–69)
• James J. Lanzetta – (1917), congressman from New York (1933–1935, 1937–1939)
• George P. Lawrence – congressman from Massachusetts (1898–1913)
• John J. Lentz – (1883), congressman from Ohio (1897–1901)
• Montague Lessler – (1889), congressman from New York (1902–03)
• Sander M. Levin – (M.A. 1954, international relations), congressman from Michigan (1983–)
• Marcus C. Lisle – congressman from Kentucky (1893–1894)
• Dan Maffei – congressman from New York (2009–2011)
• Thomas F. Magner – (B.A. 1882), congressman from New York (1889–1895)
• Thomas E. Martin – (LL.M. 1928), senator (1955–61), congressman (1939–55) from Iowa
• Washington J. McCormick – (1910), congressman from Montana (1921–23)
• John McKeon – (1828), congressman from New York (1835–1837, 1841–1843)
• Roy H. McVicker – (1950), congressman from Colorado (1965–67)
• Schuyler Merritt – (1876), congressman from Connecticut (1917–31; 1933–37)
• Chester Earl Merrow – (TC 1937), congressman from New Hampshire (1943–1963)
• Brad Miller – (1979), congressman from North Carolina (2005–)
• Arthur W. Mitchell – (attended), African American congressman from Illinois (1935–1943)
• E.A. Mitchell – congressman from Indiana (1947–1949)
• James W. Mott – (B.A. 1909), congressman from Oregon (1933–1945)
• Jerrold Nadler – (B.A.), congressman from New York (1992–)
• Beto O'Rourke – (B.A.), congressman from Texas (2013–2019)
• David A. Ogden – (B.A.), congressman from New York (1817–1819)
• Maureen Ogden – (M.A. 1963), seven term member of the New Jersey General Assembly.[22]
• J. Van Vechten Olcott – (1877), congressman from New York (1905–1911)
• William Claiborne Owens – (1872), congressman from Kentucky (1895–97)
• James Parker – (1793), congressman from New Jersey (1833–1837)
• Richard W. Parker – (1869), congressman from New Jersey (1895–1903; 1903–11; 1914–19; 1921–23)
• Thomas G. Patten – (1880–82), congressman from New York (1911–1917)
• Herbert Pell – congressman from New York (1919–1921)
• William Walter Phelps – (1863), congressman from New Jersey (1873–75; 1883–89)
• Philip J. Philbin – (1929), congressman from Massachusetts (1943–1976)
• Otis G. Pike – (1948), congressman from New York (1961–79)
• Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. – (M.A. 1932), congressman from New York (1945–1971), one of 100 Greatest African Americans
• Henry Jarvis Raymond – (LL.B. 1871), congressman from New York (1865–67); Lieutenant Governor of New York (1854–1856); founder of The New York Times
• Edward Everett Robbins – (1884), congressman from Pennsylvania (1897–1899; 1917–1919)
• Henry H. Ross – (1808), congressman from New York (1825–1827)
• James I. Roosevelt – (1815), congressman from New York (1841–1843)
• William Fitts Ryan – (1949), congressman from New York (1961–72)
• James Scheuer – (1948), congressman from New York (1965–93)
• Townsend Scudder – (1888), congressman from New York (1899–1901; 1903–1905)
• John F. Seiberling – (1949), congressman from Ohio (1971–87)
• Eugene Siler – (attended), congressman from Kentucky (1955–1963, 1963–1965)
• Stephen J. Solarz – (M.A. 1967) congressman from New York (1975–1993)
• Edward J. Stack – (M.A. 1938), congressman from Florida (1979–1981)
• Francis Lynde Stetson – (1869), congressman from New York (in the 28th U.S. Congress)
• Percy Hamilton Stewart – (1893), congressman from New Jersey (1931–33)
• William Sulzer – congressman from New York
• Jessie Sumner – (studied at the Law School), congresswoman from Illinois (1939–1947)
• James W. Symington – (1954), congressman from Missouri (1969–77)
• Charles Phelps Taft – (1864), congressman from Ohio (1895–97); editor of the Cincinnati Times-Star; owner, Chicago Cubs (1914–16)
• Benjamin I. Taylor – (1899), congressman from New York (1913–15)
• John A. Thayer – congressman from Massachusetts (1911–13)
• Norton Strange Townshend – (M.D. 1840), congressman from Ohio (1851–1853)
• Daniel C. Verplanck – (B.A. 1788), congressman from New York (1803–1809)
• Gulian Crommelin Verplanck – (B.A. 1801), congressman from New York (1825–1833)
• Peter Dumont Vroom – (B.A.), congressman from New Jersey (1839–41), U.S. Envoy to Prussia (1853–57)
• J. Mayhew Wainwright – (1886), congressman from New York (1923–1931)
• William C. Wallace – (1876), congressman from New York (1889–1891)
• Charles Weltner – (1950), congressman from Georgia (1963–67), John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award
• William H. Wiley – (CCSM 1868), congressman from New Jersey (1903–1907, 1909 1911)
• Harrison A. Williams – (1948), congressman (1953–57) and senator (1959–82) from New Jersey
• Francis H. Wilson – (1875), congressman from New York (1895–1897)
• Stewart Lyndon Woodford – (B.A. 1854), congressman from New York, Lieutenant Governor of New York (1867–1868)
• Herbert Zelenko – (1928), congressman from New York (1955–63)

• Victor Attah – (M.A.) was governor of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria ( 1999–2007)
• Willie Blount – Governor of Tennessee (1809–1815)[23]
• Steve Bullock – (J.D.) Governor Elect of Montana (2012–)
• Doyle E. Carlton – (L.L.B. 1912) Governor of Florida
• DeWitt Clinton – (1786) twice Governor of New York (1817–22; 1825–28), U.S. Senator, Mayor of New York City, main proponent of the Erie Canal
• Lawrence William Cramer – (M.A.) second civilian Governor of the United States Virgin Islands (1935–1940)
• Arthur G. Crane – (Ph.D. 1920) acting Governor of Wyoming (1949–1951)
• Colgate Darden – Governor of Virginia, president of the University of Virginia, Chancellor of the College of William and Mary, Democratic Congressman from Virginia, namesake of Darden Graduate School of Business Administration
• Gray Davis – (Law) Governor of California (1999–2003), Lieutenant Governor of California (1995–1999), California State Controller (1987–1995)
• Howard Dean – (GS, Pre-med) former Governor of Vermont; Chairman Democratic National Committee
• Thomas E. Dewey – (Law 1925) Governor of New York (1943–1955); New York prosecutor and District Attorney of New York; Republican candidate for President of the United States in 1944 (against Roosevelt) and in 1948 (against Truman)
• Hamilton Fish – (1827) Governor of New York, U.S. Senator
• Horace F. Graham (J.D.), 56th Governor of Vermont (1917–1919)
• Judd Gregg – (B.A. 1969) Governor of New Hampshire (1989–93), Republican U.S. Senator from New Hampshire (1993–2012), U.S. Congressman (1981–81)
• Wilford Bacon Hoggatt – Governor of Alaska (Territorial)
• Charles Evans Hughes – (Law 1884) Governor of New York
• John Jay – Governor of New York
• Thomas Kean – Governor of New Jersey (1982–1990), President of Drew University, Chairman of 9/11 Commission
• Stephen W. Kearney – military Governor of California (Territorial)
• John W. King – Governor of Rhode Island and jurist
• Madeleine M. Kunin – Governor of Vermont, Deputy Secretary of Education in Clinton administration, U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland, U.S. Ambassador to Liechtenstein
• Ruby Laffoon – Governor of Kentucky
• William Langer – 17th and 21st Governor of North Dakota, U.S. Senator, Attorney General of North Dakota
• William Beach Lawrence – acting Governor of Rhode Island, Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island
• Oren E. Long – tenth Territorial Governor of Hawaii (1951–1053)
• James L. McConaughy – Governor of Connecticut, President of Wesleyan University, Knox College
• James McGreevey – (B.A. 1978) Governor of New Jersey (2002–2004).[24]
• Robert B. Meyner – Governor of New Jersey
• Wayne Mixson – (attended) 39th Governor of Florida, 12th Lieutenant Governor of Florida
• Evelyn Murphy – (M.A.-Econ.) 67th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts; first woman in history of state to hold a constitutional office (1987–1991)
• George Pataki – (Law 1970) Governor of New York (1995–2006)
• David Paterson – (B.A. 1977) first African American Governor of New York; former Lieutenant Governor of New York
• John Dyneley Prince – (M.A. 1898) acting Governor of New Jersey when Governor Woodrow Wilson was out of the state
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt – Governor of New York
• Theodore Roosevelt – Governor of New York
• Charles Wilbert Snow – (M.A. 1910) Governor of Connecticut (1946–1947)
• William Sulzer – Governor of New York, U.S. Congressman (1895–1912)
• Guy J. Swope – (SIPA) acting Governor of Puerto Rico
• Daniel D. Tompkins – (1795) Governor of New York; 6th Vice President of the United States
• Rexford Tugwell – (Ph.D.) served as the last appointed American Governor of Puerto Rico (1941–1946)
• Peter Vroom – (1808) Governor of New Jersey (1829–32; 1833–36)
• George P. Wetmore – (L.L.B. 1869) Governor of Rhode Island
• Horace White – Governor of New York, Lieutenant Governor of New York, Trustee of Cornell University

See also: Notable alumni of Columbia Law School (Diplomats), Columbia College of Columbia University (United States Diplomatic figures), School of International and Public Affairs for separate listing of more than 40 diplomats

• Michael Armacost – (Ph.D.) United States Ambassador to Japan (1989–1993); U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines (1982–1984)
• Robert L. Barry – (M.A. 1962) United States Ambassador to Indonesia (1992–1995); also United States Ambassador to Bulgaria
• Vincent Martin Battle – (M.A. 1967, Ph.D. 1974) United States Ambassador to Lebanon (2001–2004)
• Richard E. Benedick – (B.A.) former diplomat; chief United States negotiator, Montreal Protocol
• Avis Bohlen – (M.A. 1965) diplomat, United States Ambassador to Bulgaria (1996–99)
• Arthur Frank Burns – (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.) United States Ambassador to West Germany (1981–1985)
• Patricia A. Butenis – (M.A.) United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka (2009–); United States Ambassador to the Maldives (2009–); United States Ambassador to Bangladesh
• Reuben Clark – (J.D.) United States Ambassador to Mexico (1930–1933)
• William Clark, Jr. – (M.A.) United States Ambassador to India (1989–1992)
• Christopher Dell – (B.A. 1978) United States Ambassador, Republic of Kosovo (2009–); U.S. Ambassador to Angola (2001–04); U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe (2004–07)
• William Joseph Donovan – (B.A. 1905, J.D.) United States Ambassador to Thailand (1953–1954)
• Millicent Fenwick – (B.A.) United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture (1983–1987)
• Daniel Fried – (M.A.) U.S. Special Envoy, Guantanamo, rank of Ambassador (2009–); top U.S. diplomat in Europe (2005–09); United States Ambassador to Poland (1997–00)
• David M. Friedman – (B.A.) United States Ambassador to Israel (2017-)
• James W. Gerard – (B.A. 1890) United States Ambassador to Germany (1913–1917)
• Henry F. Grady – (Ph.D. 1984) first U.S. Ambassador to India (1947–1948); concurrently U.S.Ambassador to Nepal (1948); U.S. Ambassador to Greece (1948–1950); U.S. Ambassador to Iran (1950–1951)
• Gordon Gray III – (M.A. 1982) United States Ambassador to Tunisia (September 2009 – 2012)
• Howard Gutman – (B.A. 1977) United States Ambassador to Belgium (2009–2013)
• Suzanne K. Hale – (B.A.) former United States Ambassador to Federated States of Micronesia (2004–2007)
• Martin J. Hillenbrand – (M.A. 1938, Ph.D. 1948) U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany (1972–1976); United States Ambassador to Hungary (1967–1969)
• Robert G. Joseph – (Ph.D. 1978) former United States Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation (rank of Ambassador); also Under Secretary of State for Arms Control
• Ismail Khalidi – (Ph.D. 1955) the senior political affairs officer in the department of political and security council affairs for the United Nations
• Madeleine M. Kunin – (CSJ) United States Ambassador to Switzerland (1996–1999), United States Ambassador to Liechtenstein (1996–1999)
• James R. Lilley – U.S. Ambassador to China at time of Tiananmen Square (1989–91); U.S. Ambassador to Korea (1986–89); Director, American Institute in Taiwan (1981–84)
• Harold F. Linder – (B.A.) United States Ambassador to Canada (1968–1969); President, Export-Import Bank of the United States (1961–1968)
• William H. Luers – (M.A.) United States Ambassador to Venezuela (1978–82) and United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1983–86)
• David E. Mark – (B.A., LL.M.) U.S. Ambassador to Burundi (1974–77); career Minister, U.S. Foreign Service, Germany, Moscow; helped Georgians write their Constitution
• Jack Matlock – (M.A. 1952) United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1987–1991); United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1981–1983)
• Brett H. McGurk (J.D. 1999), nominee, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Iraq (2012–)[25]
• Jim Nicholson – (M.A.) United States Ambassador to the Holy See (2001–2005)
• B. Lynn Pascoe – (M.A.) United States Ambassador to Indonesia (2004–07) and Malaysia (1999–01); Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Political Affairs (2007–)
• Robert E. Patterson – (M.A., M.Phil) United States Ambassador to Turkmenistan under President Barack Obama (2011–)[26][27]
• Mark Pekala – (M.I.A. 1983, M.Phil. 1988) U.S. Ambassador to Latvia under President Barack Obama (2012–)[28]
• John Dyneley Prince – (M.A. 1898) U.S. Ambassador to Denmark (1921–1926); U.S. Ambassador to Yugoslavia (1926–1937)
• Michael A. Raynor – (M.A.) former United States Ambassador to Benin (2012–2015)[29] and nominee to become United States Ambassador to Ethiopia
• Mitchell Reiss – (J.D.) United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland (rank of Ambassador) (stepped down in 2007); former Chief negotiator for the United States in the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization
• Julissa Reynoso (J.D. 2001), United States Ambassador to Uruguay (2012–)[30][31]
• William E. Schaufele, Jr. – (M.A. 1950) U.S. Ambassador to Upper Volta (1969–71); U.S. representative, United Nations Security Council (rank of ambassador) (1971–75); U.S. Ambassador to Poland (1978–80)
• Eugene Schuyler – (LL.M. 1863), first American diplomat to visit Central Asia, first U.S. Minister to Romania and Serbia, also U.S. Minister to Greece
• Elliott P. Skinner – (M.A. 1952, Ph.D. 1955) anthropologist; United States Ambassador to Republic of Upper Volta (1966–1969)
• Sichan Siv – (M.A.) diplomat and former U.S. representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (rank of Ambassador) (2001–06)
• Laurence A. Steinhardt – (B.A., M.A., LL.B. 1915) U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1939–1941); U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (1942–1945); U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1945–1948); U.S. Ambassador to Sweden (1933–1937); U.S. Ambassador to Peru (1937–1939); U.S. Ambassador to Canada (1948–1950)
• Walter Stoessel – (graduate study) U.S. Ambassador to Poland (1968–72); U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1974–76); U.S. Ambassador to West Germany (1976–80)
• Oscar S. Straus – (B.A. 1871, LL.B. 1873) thrice United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (1887–1889, 1898–1899, 1910–1912)
• James Daniel Theberge – (B.A. 1952) United States Ambassador to Nicaragua (1975–1977); United States Ambassador to Chile (1982–1985)
• Harry K. Thomas, Jr. – (graduate study) Director General, United States Foreign Service (2007–2009); United States Ambassador to the Philippines (2010–); United States Ambassador to Bangladesh (2003–2005)
• Alexander Vershbow – (M.A. 1976) United States Ambassador to South Korea (2005–2008); United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2001–2005); United States Ambassador to NATO (1998–2001)
• Ross Wilson (ambassador) – (M.A. 1979) United States Ambassador to Turkey (2005–2008); U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan (2000–2003)
• Donald Yamamoto – (B.A., graduate study) U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia (2006–09); U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti (2000–03); U.S. Ambassadorto Eritrea ad interim (1997–98)

• Salahuddin Ahmad – (LL.M. 1970) Attorney General of Bangladesh (2008–2009)
• Obed Asamoah – (M.A.), longest serving foreign minister and Attorney General of Ghana under President Jerry Rawlings (1981–1997)
• Jerome Choquette – (CBS) Attorney General of Canada, also Canadian Minister of Justice (1970–1975), Minister of Education (1975), Minister of Financial Institutions (1970)
• Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz – (Fulbright scholar, research, 1980 through 1981) Public Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice of the Republic of Poland (1993–95)
• Mark MacGuigan – (LL.M., J.S.D.) Attorney General of Canada, also Canadian Minister of Justice (1982–1984); Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs (1980–1982)
• Githu Muigai – (LL.M. 1986) current Attorney General of Kenya (August 2011–)[32][33][34][35][36][37][38]
• Mikhail Saakashvili – (LL.M. 1994) former Minister of Justice of Georgia
• Abdul Satar Sirat – (B.A.) former Minister of Justice of Afghanistan

• B. R. Ambedkar – (M.A. 1915, Ph.D. 1928, LLD 1952) head of drafting committee of Indian constitution; honoured with the Bharat Ratna
• Hans Blix – (student and research graduate) Swedish diplomat, First Executive Chairman, United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (2000–03); Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (1981–97); Minister of Foreign Affairs (Sweden) (1976–78)
• Laurens Jan Brinkhorst – (M.A.) Dutch Deputy Prime Minister (2005–06); Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs (2003–06); Dutch Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (1973–77)
• Chough Pyung-ok – (Ph.D. 1925) South Korean politician, independence activist
• Nikiforos Diamandouros – (M.A., M. Phil., Ph.D.) Ombudsman of the European Union (2003–); National Ombudsman of Greece (1998–2003)
• Sir Albert Edward Patrick Duffy – UK Politician; President, NATO Assembly in the 1980s; Minister of the Navy in the 1970s
• Boutros Boutros-Ghali – (Fulbright Research Scholar, 1954–1955) Secretary-General of the United Nations (1992–1997); Egypt's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (1977–1991); Egypt's Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
• Philip Gunawardena – (post-graduate work) national hero in Sri Lanka; twice Cabinet Minister in government of Sri Lanka
• Johan Jørgen Holst – (B.A. 1960) instrumental in Oslo Accord; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway (1993–94); twice Minister of Defense of Norway (1986–89, 1990–93)
• Eyo Ita – Nigerian politician; one of the prominent founding fathers of Nigeria
• Michael O'Leary – Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland; Irish Minister of Labour, Minister of Energy
• Carlos P. Romulo – (M.A. 1921) President of the United Nations General Assembly (1949–1950); served eight Philippine presidents from Manuel L. Quezon to Ferdinand Marcos as a cabinet member and as the country's representative to the U.S. or to the United Nations
• David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville – (M.B.A.) British politician; Life peer (1997–); House of Lords (Labour Party) (as of 2013); Minister for Science (1998–2006)
• Alexander Vershbow – (M.A. 1976 and Certificate of the Russian Institute) Deputy Secretary General of NATO (2012–); Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director, U.S. National Security Council (1994–1997)
• Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev – Number 2 in Mikhail Gorbachev Administration; also Soviet Ambassador to Canada (1973–1983)
• Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai – (M.A., Ph.D.) Afghanistan's Finance Minister (2002–2004)
• Olubanke King Akerele – (M.A.) Liberian Minister of Foreign Affairs (Secretary of State) in the cabinet of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (2007–2010)
• Gonzalo Aróstegui – (B.A.) key architect, Cuba's Independence Movement; Cuban Minister (Ambass.) to Germany and the United States (the former, 1912–15)
• Reuben Baetz – Canadian politician, four time cabinet Minister in the governments of Bill Davis and Frank Miller
• Deniz Baykal – Turkish politician; Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (1995–1996)
• Mohamed Benaissa – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco (1999–2007); Minister of Culture of Morocco (1985–1992); Moroccan Ambassador to the United States (1993–1999)
• Karin Maria Bruzelius – (LL.M. 1969) Swedish Under Secretary of State (1989–97) (first women to hold position), Swedish Deputy Under Secretary of State (1979–83)
• Vincent Burke – (M.A., Ph.D.) Newfoundland Secretary of Education in government of Sir Richard Squires (1927–1935); also, member of the Senate of Canada
• Alfonso López Caballero – (M.A.) Colombian Minister of the Interior (1998); Colombian Minister of Agriculture (1991–93); held several Ambassadorships
• Roberto de Oliveira Campos – (postgraduate study) Brazilian Minister of Planning for the government of Castelo Branco (1964–67); Brazilian Ambassador to the U.S. and U.K.
• Simón Alberto Consalvi – (M.A.) Venezuelan politician, twice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela (1977–1979, 1985–1988); Minister of Interior and Justice of Venezuela (1988–1989); Secretary of the Presidency (1988); held several Ambassadorships
• Ernest Eastman – Liberian Minister of Foreign Affairs (1983–1986); Minister of State for Presidential Affairs
• Ingrid Eide – (1957–1960) in Bratteli's Second Cabinet, appointed State Secretary in Norwegian Ministry of Church Affairs and Education (1973–76); United Nations official
• Bassel Fleihan – (Ph.D., Economics, 1990) Lebanese legislator; Minister of Economy and Commerce (2000–2003)
• Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria and U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs
• Bernardo J. Gastélum – (postgraduate studies in Medicine) Mexican physician, politician; Mexican Secretary of Public Education (1923)
• Dore Gold – (B.A. 1975, M.A. 1976, Ph.D. 1984) U.S.-born Israeli diplomat, Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (1997–1999)
• Emre Gönensay – (M.A.) Turkish politician; Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1996
• Ronald Green – (pre-doctoral level studies) Dominican politician; Minister of Education, Sports and Youth Affairs (1995–2000)
• Joseph Rudolph Grimes – (M.A.) second Liberian Minister of Foreign Affairs (1960–1971) (longest serving in history of Liberia)
• Kasım Gülek – (Ph.D., economics) Turkish statesman; Turkish Minister of Public Works, Minister of Communications, Transport Minister, and Deputy Prime Minister
• Toomas Hendrik Ilves (B.A. 1975) former President of Estonia
• Radu Irimescu – (engineering degree 1920) Romanian Minister of War; Minister of the Air Forces
• Saeb N. Jaroudi – (Ph.D.) former Minister of National Economy, Industry, and Tourism in Lebanon
• Ugnė Karvelis – (student of Economics and History, 1957 through 1958) Permanent Lithuanian Ambassador to UNESCO (1993–1997)
• Georgina Kessel – (Ph.D.) Mexican economist; Mexican Secretary of Energy in cabinet of Felipe Calderón (2006–)
• Emilio Lozoya – (M.B.A.) Mexican economist and politician, Mexican Secretary of Energy under President Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1993–1994)
• Gunnar Lund – (M.A. 1972) Minister in the Swedish cabinet (2002–2004); Swedish Ambassador to France (2007–); Swedish Ambassador to the United States (2004–2007)
• Carlos Tello Macias – (M.A., Economics, 1959) Mexican economist, academician; former Secretary of Budget and Planning in the cabinet of José López Portillo; former Mexican Ambassador to Cuba, Portugal, and Russia
• Ahmed El Maghrabi – (M.B.A.) Minister of Housing in Egypt (2005–2010); former Tourism Minister
• Jiang Menglin – (Ph.D.) Chinese educator, writer, politician; Ministry of Education (Republic of China) (1928–1930)
• Claude Morin – (M.S.W.) Canadian Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs in cabinet of René Lévesque (1976–1982)
• Ken Ofori-Atta (B.A. 1984) 17th Ghanian Minister for Finance and Economic Planning (2017-)
• Geoffrey Onyeama (B.A. 1977) Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs (2015-)
• Michael Oren – (B.A. 1977, M.A. 1978 ) Israeli Ambassador to the United States (2009–)
• Mario Laserna Pinzón – (B.A. 1948) Columbian Ambassador to France (1976–1979) and Austria (1987–1990); founder, Universidad de los Andes
• James Peterson – (Masters of Laws) retired Canadian politician; former Minister of International Trade
• Eduardo Verano de la Rosa – (M.B.A. 1981) Colombian Minister of Environment (1997–1998)
• K.L.Shrimali – India parliamentarian and educationist; Minister of Education in the Union Council of Ministers (1955–1963)
• Mikheil Saakashvili – (LL.M. 1994) Minister of Justice, Republic of Georgia (2000–2001)
• Abdul Satar Sirat – (undergraduate course work in law) Afghanistan's Justice Minister (1969–1973)
• Hong Soon-young – retired South Korean diplomat; Foreign Minister of South Korea (1998–00); Unification Minister of South Korea (2001–02); held several Ambassadorships
• Lorrin A. Thurston – (LL.B.) Kingdom of Hawaii Minister of Interior (1887–1890)
• Héctor Timerman – (M.A. 1981) Argentine Minister of Foreign Relations (2010–); Argentine Ambassador to the United States (2007–2010)
• Sheila Tlou – (M.A.) Botswana specialist in HIV/AIDS, women's health; Botswana Minister of Health (2004–2008)
• Andrés Velasco – (Ph.D.) Finance Minister of Chile (2006–2010), during complete presidential period of Michelle Bachelet
• Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby – (graduate study) British politician and academic; Secretary of State for Education (1976–1979), Paymaster General (1976–1979), Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection (1974–1976); shadow Home Secretary (1971–1973)
• Nugroho Wisnumurti – (J.D. 1973) Ambassador/Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations (1992–1997); Indonesia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other Organizations in Geneva (2000–2004)
• Salomé Zourabichvili – (graduate studies for M.A.) Georgian politician; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia (2004–2005)

• William Joseph Donovan (Wild Bill) – (LL.B.) World War I, World War II hero; only person to receive Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal (3), and National Security Medal; also recipient of Silver Star, Purple Heart (2), and IRC's Freedom Award
• Daniel R. Edwards – (CSJ) Medal of Honor, soldier serving in the U.S. Army during World War I
• Theodore Roosevelt – Medal of Honor, awarded posthumously to Colonel Roosevelt (in 2001) for gallantry shown during dual charges up Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898 during the Spanish–American War; TR organized the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, dubbed the Rough Riders by news reporters
• Franklin Van Valkenburgh – Medal of Honor, awarded posthumously; the last captain of the USS Arizona (BB-39) during World War II
• John C. Acton – retired United States Coast Guard Rear Admiral; Director, Operations Coordination, DHS;[39] served as Director, DHS Presidential Transition Team[40][41]
• Shlomo Arel – (M.B.A.) retired Major General in the IDF; the seventh Commander, Israeli Navy; member, Likud party
• Samuel Auchmuty – (1775) British Lieutenant General, loyalist during American Revolutionary War, Commander-in-Chief, Ireland (1882); member, Privy Council of Ireland
• Sidney Bryan Berry – (graduate degree, 1951–1953) retired United States Army Lieutenant General; former Superintendent of West Point (1974–1977)
• Reid K. Beveridge – retired National Guard of the United States Brigadier General; Commander, 261st Signal Command
• Roger A. Brady – (EMBA 1994) former United States Air Force four-star General; last served as the 33rd Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe
• Kevin P. Chilton – (1977) retired U.S. Air Force four-star General; engineer; former commander, U.S. Strategic Command (2007–11); former NASA astronaut
• Ralph Clem – (M.A. 1972; Ph.D. 1976) decorated USAF Major General (Retired); Russian specialist; geographer and author
• Henry Eugene Davies – Major General, Union Army, American Civil War
• Ira C. Eaker – (studied Law) four-star General, United States Army Air Forces during World War II; architect, strategic bombing force; Congressional Gold Medal
• Robert J. Elder, Jr – (EMBA 1997) former Lieutenant General, U.S. Air Force; Commander, 8th Air Force
• Hamilton Fish II – (B.A.) Sergeant, Rough Riders in Spanish–American War; first American killed in Battle of Las Guasimas
• Francis "Gabby" Gabreski – (B.A. 1949) top American fighter ace in Europe during World War II and a jet fighter ace in Korea
• Ulysses S. Grant III – (attended until 1898, transferred to West Point) Major General, United States Army
• Francis H. Griswold – was a United States Air Force Lieutenant General; commandant, National War College and vice commander in chief, Strategic Air Command
• Alexander Haig, Jr. – (MBA 1955) was a United States Army four-star General; served as Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army (the second-highest-ranking officer in the Army), and as the 7th Supreme Allied Commander Europe, commanding all U.S. and NATO forces in Europe
• Alexander Hamilton – Major General during American Revolutionary War; aide-de-camp and confidant to General George Washington; led three battalions at the Siege of Yorktown; Battle of White Plains, Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Monmouth
• Thomas F. Healy – (graduate degree) was a U.S. Army Lieutenant General and former commandant of the Army War College
• Hazel Johnson-Brown – (M.A.) In 1979 became 1st black female General, United States Army; also the 1st black Chief, U.S. Army Nurse Corps
• David Kay – (M.S., Ph.D.) United Nations Chief Weapons Inspector, head of Iraq Survey Group
• Philip Kearny – (Law 1833) Brigadier General, U.S. Army; notable for his leadership in the Mexican–American War and Civil War
• Stephen W. Kearney – United States Army, brevet Major General; Conqueror of California in the Mexican–American War; military Governor of California (Territory)
• Béla Király – (Ph.D. 1962) Hungarian resistance fighter during World War II; Major General in the Hungarian army as well as a military historian, author, and politician
• Alfred Thayer Mahan – (1858), president, U.S. Naval War College, and author of The Influence of Sea Power Upon History
• Harold M. McClelland – (attended) United States Air Force Major General, considered the father of Air Force communications
• C. D. Moore – (M.S. 1981) United States Air Force Major General; Deputy Director, Joint Strike Fighter Program
• Otto L. Nelson, Jr. – (M.A. 1932) was a United States Army Major General during World War II
• Yuval Neria – Professor of Medical Psychology CUMC Medal of Valor (Israel)
• William Eldridge Odom – (M.S. 1962, Ph.D. 1970) retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General; former Director of the NSA under President Ronald Reagan
• John Watts de Peyster – (studied law at the law school, M.A.) Major General during the American Civil War; author on the art of war, one of the first military critics
• Rudolph Douglas Raiford – (J.D.) decorated African-American World War II combat officer who trained and commanded the Infantry Buffalo Division in Italy
• Hyman G. Rickover – U.S. Navy four-star Admiral; father, U.S. nuclear submarine fleet, Enrico Fermi Award, Presidential Medal of Freedom, (2) Congressional Medal of Freedom
• Frederick F. Russell – (M.D. 1893) Brigadier General; U.S. Army physician who developed first successful typhoid vaccine in 1909; Public Welfare Medal
• Henry Rutgers – (1766) American Revolutionary War hero; philanthropist; primary supporter of Rutgers College, his namesake (which, in 1924, became Rutgers University)
• Brent Scowcroft – (M.A. 1953, Ph.D. International Relations 1967) Lieutenant General, United States Air Force; United States National Security Advisor
• Anthony T. Shtogren – (M.B.A. 1948) former Major General in the United States Air Force
• William S. Stone – (M.A. Economics) was U.S. Air Force Major General; third Superintendent, U.S. Air Force Academy; air deputy, U.S. Supreme Allied Commander Europe
• Albert Stubblebine – (M.S.) retired Major General, U.S. Army; former commanding general, United States Army Intelligence and Security Command
• Robert Troup – Lieutenant Colonel in American Revolutionary War, aide-de-camp, General Horatio Gates; participated in surrender of General Burgoyne at Battle of Saratoga
• John W. Vogt – (M.A.) four-star General; Purple Heart; Commander in Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe; Commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe
• Charles Wilkes – United States Navy Admiral, noted for his 1838–1842 Pacific expedition as well as his role in the Trent Affair during the Civil War
• Samuel V. Wilson – Lieutenant General, U.S. Army; Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; coined term "counterinsurgency"
• Richard Whitehead Young – (LL.B. 1884) Brigadier General; in Spanish–American War led Utah Light Artillery in Philippines; in World War I led a U.S. artillery brigade in France

See also: Notable alumni of Columbia Law School (Miscellaneous U.S. government; Non-U.S. government; State government; and Private legal practice) for separate listing of more than 120 attorneys in U.S. government service, non-U.S. government service, state government, and private practice

• Mark Barnes – (LL.M. 1991) advocate, public healthcare law at the state and national levels; co-founded the first AIDS law clinic
• David M. Becker, two-time General Counsel of the SEC.
• Richard Ben-Veniste – (J.D. 1967), federal prosecutor (1968–73); Chief, Watergate Task Force, Special Prosecutor's Office (1973–75); member, 9/11 Commission (2002–04)
• Moe Berg – (J.D. 1930) spy, Office of Strategic Services (OSS), spoke 12 languages; light-hitting catcher, Brooklyn Robins (1923), Chicago White Sox (1926–30), Cleveland Indians (1931, 1934), Washington Senators (1932–34), Boston Red Sox (1935–39); according to Casey Stengel, "the strangest man ever to play Major League Baseball"
• Preet Bharara – (J.D. 1993), United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York in the administration of President Barack Obama (2009–)
• Felix Cohen – (1928) advocate, Native American rights, fundamentally shaped federal Native American law and policy
• Roy Cohn – (1947) conservative lawyer, became famous during investigations of Senator Joseph McCarthy into alleged Communists in U.S. government
• Robert Cover – (1968) civil rights and international anti-violence advocate; professor at Yale Law School
• Paul Drennan Cravath – (J.D. 1886) name partner, New York law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore
• William Nelson Cromwell – (J.D. 1878) founder, New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell
• William Joseph Donovan (Wild Bill) – United States Attorney for the Western District of New York
• William O. Douglas – third Chairman, United States Securities and Exchange Commission; professor, Columbia Law School and Yale Law School
• Julius Genachowski (B.A,) – Chairman, United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the Obama Administration, former General Counsel, FCC
• Harvey Goldschmid – Commissioner, General Counsel, Special Adviser to the Chairman, United States Securities and Exchange Commission; professor, Columbia Law
• Jack Greenberg – (B.A. 1945, LL.B. 1948) litigator of Brown v. Board of Education; argued 40 civil rights cases before U.S. Supreme Court; professor, Columbia Law
• Slade Gorton – (J.D. 1953) member, 9/11 Commission
• George Sydney Hawkins – (B.A.), United States District Attorney for the Apalachicola District (1841–46); Associate Justice, Supreme Court of Florida (1846–50)
• Arthur Garfield Hays – (1905) civil liberties advocate; general counsel, ACLU; notable trials included Scopes Trial, trial of Sacco and Vanzetti, Scottsboro case
• Joel I. Klein – (B.A. 1967) United States Assistant Attorney General under Bill Clinton; won U.S. v. Microsoft; Counsel to Bertelsmann
• William Kovacic – (J.D. 1978) Chairman (2008–), Commissioner (2006–), United States Federal Trade Commission
• William Kunstler – (1948) civil rights and human rights advocate; Director, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) (1964–1972); co-founded, Center for Constitutional Rights in 1969; self-described radical lawyer; defended numerous controversial clients, including Chicago Seven, American Indian Movement; a popular author
• Benjamin M. Lawsky – (B.A., J.D.) first Superintendent, New York State Department of Financial Services (2011–); investigated Standard Chartered
• Howard Lesnick (A.B. 1952)-Jefferson B. Fordham Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
• Harvey R. Miller – (J.D. 1959) New York Times called him "the most prominent bankruptcy lawyer in the nation." (March 9, 2007)
• Leonard P. Moore – United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (1953–1957)
• Annette Nazareth – Commissioner, United States Securities and Exchange Commission
• Jim Nicholson – former Chairman, Republican National Committee
• Marshall Perlin – (1942) civil liberties advocate; defended Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
• Robert Pitofsky – Chairman (1995–2001), Commissioner (1978–81), United States Federal Trade Commission
• Frank Polk – name partner, New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell
• Simon H. Rifkind – name partner, New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
• Benito Romano – (J.D. 1976) first Puerto Rican to serve as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (on an interim basis)
• James I. Roosevelt – (1815), United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1860–1861)
• Charles Ruff – (J.D. 1963) United States Attorney for the District of Columbia; in Watergate scandal, fourth and final Watergate Special Prosecutor
• Whitney North Seymour – (1923) president of the ABA; Chairman, New York law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
• John W. Simpson – (1873) one of founders, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
• John William Sterling – (1893) founder, New York law firm Shearman & Sterling; namesake of Yale's library and law building
• Francis Lynde Stetson – (1869) early leader, Davis Polk & Wardwell
• Thomas Thacher – (1873) one of founders, Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett
• David G. Trager – (1959) United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (1974–1978); judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (1993)
• Charles H. Tuttle – (B.A. 1899, LL.B. 1902) U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1927–30)
• Lawrence E. Walsh – Independent Prosecutor for the Iran-Contra Affair
• Charles Weltner – (1950) advocate, racial equality; second individual to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award
• Edward Baldwin Whitney – United States Assistant Attorney General
• Mary Jo White – (J.D. 1974) first female U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1993–02); Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York
• Stewart Lyndon Woodford – (B.A. 1854) U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1877–1883); Lieutenant Governor of New York (1867–1868); U.S. Ambassador to Spain (1897–1898); Brigadier General, Civil War

See also: Notable alumni of Columbia College of Columbia University (United States Political figures) and Columbia Law School (City government) for additional listing of more than 25 mayors

• Horace Carpentier – (B.A.) first Mayor of Oakland, California; president of the Overland Telegraph Company
• Jun Choi – (M.P.P.A.) Mayor of Edison, New Jersey (2006–2011)
• Jerome Choquette – (CBS) Mayor of Outremont, Montreal (Canada)
• DeWitt Clinton – Mayor of New York City
• May Cutler – (M.A.) Canadian, first female Mayor of Westmount, Quebec (1987–1991).[42]
• Karl Dean – (B.A. 1978) sixth Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee (2007–)
• Bill de Blasio – (M.A.) Mayor of New York City (2014–)
• William Sanford Evans – (B.A.) Mayor of Winnipeg, MB (1909–1911); leader of Manitoba, Canada's Conservative Party caucus (1933–1936)
• Sun Fo – (M.A. 1917) appointed Mayor of Guangzhou (Canton), Republic of China (1920–1922, 1923–1925)
• Eric Garcetti – (B.A., M.I.A.) 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles (2013–present)
• Susan Golding – (M.A.) two-term mayor of San Diego, California (1992–2000)
• William Frederick Havemeyer – served three times as the Mayor of New York City (1845–1846, 1848–1849 and 1873–1874)
• Abram Stevens Hewitt – (1842) Mayor of New York City
• Frank S. Katzenbach – former Mayor of Trenton, New Jersey
• George Latimer – (J.D.) Mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, the state's capital city, from 1976 until 1990
• Seth Low – University president, Mayor of New York City, Mayor of Brooklyn
• Charles Meeker – (J.D. 1975) former mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina (2001–2009)
• Maureen Ogden – (M.A. 1963) Mayor of Millburn, New Jersey (1979–1981); Deputy Mayor (1976–197)
• Henrique Capriles Radonski – (attended) Venezuelan politician; Mayor of Baruta, Municipality of Caracas, Venezuela (2000–2008)
• Paul Schell – (J.D.) 50th Mayor of Seattle, Washington during the infamous WTO Meeting of 1999 (1998–2002)
• Henri Simonet – Belgian politician; Mayor of Anderlecht, Belgium (1966–1984); Vice-Chairman of the European Commission (1973–1977)
• Edward J. Stack – (M.A. 1938) City Commissioner-Mayor Pompano Beach, Florida
• Thomas Benton Stoddard – first Mayor of La Crosse, Wisconsin, a New York lawyer, Wisconsin legislator
• Annette Strauss – (M.A.) former Mayor of Dallas, Texas; second female Mayor and the second Jewish Mayor of Dallas
• Percy Sutton – (studied law) Manhattan borough president (1966–1977); longest tenure at that position
• Hsu Tain-tsair – (attended) Taiwanese politician, served as the 15th Mayor of Tainan City from 2001 to 2010
• Raymond Tucker – (B.A.) Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri (1953–1965)
• Robert Anderson Van Wyck – (A.B. valedictorian) first mayor of New York City after the consolidation of the five boroughs into the City of New York in 1898

• Amotz Asa-El – (M.A. History and Journalism) leading commentator on Israeli, Middle Eastern, and Jewish affairs
• Dan Abrams – (J.D. 1992) media legal commentator
• Paul Stuart Appelbaum – (B.A.) psychiatrist, commentator and expert on legal and ethical issues in medicine and psychiatry
• Jedediah Bila – (M.A.) conservative political commentator, columnist, culture critic, and author
• Joyce Brothers – (Ph.D.) known as Dr. Joyce Brothers, advice columnist, commentator, and first media psychologist
• Pat Buchanan – (CSJ 1962) conservative columnist, broadcast commentator, author
• Dalton Camp – (CSJ) Canadian journalist, political commentator and strategist, central figure in Red Toryism
• Leonard A. Cole – (M.A., Ph.D.) commentator and expert on bioterrorism and terror medicine
• Monica Crowley – (Ph.D.) radio and television political commentator
• Lennard J. Davis – (B.A., M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.) commentator on the intersection of culture, medicine, disability, and biotechnology
• Jim Dunnigan – (B.A.) considered "The Dean of Modern Wargaming", founder of Simulations Publications, Inc. and the most prolific board wargame designer in history, as well as a being a renowned military analyst
• Lawrence Fertig – (M.A.) libertarian journalist, economic commentator
• Mario Gabelli – (CBS) financial commentator
• Ralph Gleason – American jazz and popular music critic and commentator
• Keli Goff – political commentator and blogger
• Ellis Henican – (M.A.) commentator, columnist for Newsday and Fox News Channel
• Jim Hightower – liberal political commentator, writer for The Progressive Populist
• Molly Ivins – (CSJ) self-described "left-libertarian" political commentator, newspaper columnist, humorist, bestselling author
• Hilton Kramer – U.S. art critic and cultural commentator
• Steve Liesman – (CSJ) senior economic commentator on NBC
• Edward Luck – (MIA, M.A., M.Ph., Ph.D.) media commentator on arms control, defense, foreign policy and affairs, as well as United Nations reform and peacekeeping
• Kenneth McFarland – (M.A.) conservative commentator, public speaker, author, superintendent of Topeka, Kansas school system during Brown v. Board of Education
• John McLaughlin – (Ph.D.) political commentator, host of The McLaughlin Group on PBS
• Shireen Mazari – (Ph.D.) commentator on global strategic issues affecting peace and security; Pakistani political scientist
• Julie Menin – (B.A.) television news commentator on politics and the law
• Dick Morris – (B.A. 1967) political commentator and author
• Norman Podhoretz – (B.A.) Presidential Medal of Freedom; editor of Commentary, a founder of Neoconservatism connected with the Project for the New American Century
• Alvin F. Poussaint – (B.S. 1956) commentator on race and American society; well known psychiatrist; author
• James Rubin – (B.A. 1982, MIA 1984) Sky News commentator and television journalist
• Ralph Schoenstein – (B.A.) former commentator on NPR's All Things Considered
• Laura Schlessinger – (Ph.D. 1974) nationally syndicated radio show, The Dr. Laura Program; conservative commentator
• Thomas Sowell – (M.A.) economist, conservative social commentator, author
• Ben Stein – (B.A. 1966) conservative economic and political commentator, writer, actor, attorney
• George Stephanopoulos – (B.A. 1982) senior adviser to Bill Clinton, television anchor, media journalist, and political commentator
• Ilan Stavans – (Ph.D.) commentator on American, Hispanic, and Jewish cultures
• Samuel A. Tannenbaum – (CSJ) early commentator on Shakespeare and his contemporaries
• Cenk Uygur – (J.D.) political commentator, internet and television personality, and political activist

• Nicholas Murray Butler – (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.) vice-presidential candidate with President William Howard Taft in 1912 election (against former President Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson)
• D. Leigh Colvin – (Law) Prohibition Party vice-presidential candidate (1920) (lost)
• Thomas Dewey – (Law 1925) presidential candidate in 1944 election (against Franklin D. Roosevelt) and in 1948 (against President Harry S. Truman) in "Dewey Beats Truman" election
• Miguel Estrada – (B.A. 1983) nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
• Matt Gonzalez – (B.A. 1987) Ralph Nader 2008 vice-presidential running mate, former president San Francisco Board of Supervisors
• Judd Gregg – (B.A. 1969) Republican Senator from New Hampshire (1993–); nominee for United States Secretary of Commerce in the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama; the senator withdrew his name from nomination on February 12, 2009 (because of widening ideological differences with the administration)
• William B. Hornblower – (B.A. 1875) unsuccessfully nominated to the United States Supreme Court by President Grover Cleveland in 1893
• Charles Evans Hughes – (Law 1884) presidential candidate in 1916 election (against President Woodrow Wilson)
• Franklin Roosevelt – (Law) vice-presidential candidate with James M. Cox in 1920 election (against Warren Harding)
• Theodore Roosevelt – (Law) presidential candidate in 1912 election (against President William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson); formed Progressive Party, known as the Bull Moose Party
• Wayne Allan Root – (B.A. 1983 – same class as President Barack Obama) journalist, 2008 vice-presidential candidate for Libertarian Party

• Elizabeth Bentley – American spy for Soviet Union from 1938 until 1945; in 1945 she defected from Soviet intelligence and became a key informer for the U.S.
• Whittaker Chambers – admitted Soviet spy in the Ware Group; testified against Alger Hiss
• Morris Cohen – convicted Soviet spy, subject of Hugh Whitemore's drama for stage and TV "Pack of Lies"; instrumental in relaying atomic bomb secrets to the Kremlin in the 1940s, eventually settling in Moscow where for decades he helped train Soviet agents against the West
• William Malisoff – (Ph.D.) alleged Soviet spy, purportedly transferred advanced technology to the USSR
• Isaiah Oggins – (B.A.) Soviet spy eventually killed by his Soviet masters; he was the subject of the book The Lost Spy: An American in Stalin's Service
• William Perl – alleged Soviet spy convicted for lying about his friendship with executed spy Julius Rosenberg, not convicted of espionage
• Victor Perlo – (B.A. 1931, M.A. 1933, mathematics) alleged Soviet spy involved in Harold Ware spy ring and Perlo group as shown in Venona list of suspected subversives
• Juliet Stuart Poyntz – Communist Party USA founder alleged to have spied for the Soviet OGPU, mysteriously disappeared and presumed killed by her Soviet masters
• William Remington – (M.A. 1940) alleged Soviet spy killed in prison; convicted of perjury, not convicted of espionage
• Nathaniel Weyl – (B.S. 1931) confessed member of the Ware group of communists who engaged in espionage for the USSR in Washington, D.C.; after leaving the party, he became a conservative and avowed anti-communist
• Harry Dexter White – alleged Soviet spy who spearheaded the creation of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; later revealed allegedly to have been involved with the Silvermaster and Ware groups of communist spies while he was a senior U.S. Treasury official in the Franklin D. Roosevelt and Truman administration
• Flora Wovschin – alleged Soviet spies as revealed in the Venona project

• Prince Hussain Aga Khan – (2004) Elder son of Prince Karim Aga Khan IV
• Hong Yen Chang – (J.D. 1886), first Chinese American lawyer in the United States. The Colombia Law School Center for Chinese Legal Studies is named for him.[43]
• Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler – (LL.B. 1891) Lieutenant Governor of New York (1907–1908)
• Chelsea Clinton – (M.A., 2010, University's Mailman School of Public Health)
• Henry Cruger – elected to both Parliament of Great Britain (MP, 1774–1780, 1784–1790) and New York State Senate (1792–1796)
• Jesús Galíndez – (Ph.D.) Spanish writer; during his time at Columbia, a lecturer and student before allegedly being kidnapped and presumably killed by agents of Rafael Trujillo
• Ian Kagedan – (M.Phil. 1978) Canadian known for his work on inter-religious and inter-ethnic relations
• Caroline Kennedy – (J.D. 1988) co-chair, candidate Barack Obama's Vice Presidential Search Committee; director, Commission on Presidential Debates; adviser, Harvard Institute of Politics; one of founders, Profiles in Courage Award; attorney, author
• John H. Langbein – (B.A. 1964), legal scholar and professor at Yale Law School
• Meghan McCain – (B.A.), columnist, author, and blogger
• Betsy McCaughey – (Ph.D.), 72nd Lieutenant Governor of New York (1995–1998)
• Dianne Morales (born 1967), non-profit executive and political candidate
• Robert Moses – leader of mid-century urban "renewal" that re-shaped New York
• Dillon S. Myer, director of War Relocation Authority during World War II and commissioner of Bureau of Indian Affairs (M.A. 1926)
• Charles J. O'Byrne – (B.A. 1981, J.D. 1984) Secretary to the Governor of New York (2008)
• Ralph Perlman – (Master's in business), Louisiana state budget director, 1967–1988[44]
• Richard Ravitch – (B.A. 1955), 75th Lieutenant Governor of New York (2009–)
• Robert Reischauer – (M.I.A., Ph.D.) director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) from 1989 to 1995
• Patricia Robinson – (M.A. 1957), economist and First Lady of Trinidad and Tobago from 1997–2003[45]
• Angus B. Rothwell – (M.A. 1932), Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin
• Karenna Gore Schiff – (J.D. 2000) author, journalist, and attorney
• Pierre Sévigny – was a Canadian soldier, author, politician, and academic; best known for his involvement in the Munsinger Affair
• Thomas Sowell – African American economist and author
• Dov Zakheim – Rabbi, United States Defense Department comptroller (2001–2004), ex-V.P. of System Planning Corp., signatory to manifesto Rebuilding America's Defenses (2000) of the Project for the New American Century
• Ray William Johnson – internet celebrity; host of internet series Equals Three (did not graduate)[46]

• Columbia College of Columbia University
• Columbia University School of General Studies
• Columbia Law School
• Columbia Business School
• Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
• Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
• Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
• Columbia University Graduate School of Education (Teachers College)
• Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
• Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• Columbia University School of the Arts
• School of International and Public Affairs

• Nobel Prize Winners associated with Columbia University
• Nobel Prize Winners in Physics associated with Columbia University
• Columbians Ahead of Their Time – list of notable Columbians created by Columbia University for their 250th anniversary.
• After Columbia "Notable Alumni & Former Students" published by the Columbia University Office of Admission