Stuart Bowen

Stuart W. Bowen Jr. (born March 24, 1958) is an American lawyer who served as the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) from 2004 to 2013, overseeing U.S. government expenditures on Iraq’s reconstruction.^[1]

Stuart Bowen
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
In office January 20, 2004 – October 13, 2013
President	George W. Bush Barack Obama
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	(1958-03-24) March 24, 1958 (age 67) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Education	University of the South (BA) Vanderbilt University St. Mary's University, Texas (JD)

Early life and education

Bowen was born in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 1958. He attended Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia. He earned a B.A. from the University of the South (Sewanee), studied at Vanderbilt University Law School, and obtained a J.D. from St. Mary's University School of Law, where he served on the Law Journal's editorial board.

Career

From 1994 to 2000, Bowen served in various legal positions for Texas Governor George W. Bush, including Deputy General Counsel and Assistant General Counsel.^[2]

During the 2000 U.S. presidential election, he was part of Bush’s legal team in the Florida recount litigation and later served as counsel to the Bush–Cheney transition team.^[3]

Between 2001 and 2003, Bowen served in the Bush administration as Deputy Assistant to the President, Deputy Staff Secretary, and Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel.^[4] In 2003, he left the administration to join the law firm Patton Boggs LLP in Washington, D.C.^[5]

In 2004, Bowen was appointed Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, overseeing $63 billion allocated for Iraq's relief and reconstruction.^[6] During his tenure, he oversaw 35 quarterly reports to Congress, made 34 trips to Iraq, and testified before Congress 35 times. His office produced several in-depth reports on reconstruction, including *Hard Lessons* (2009), which analyzed reconstruction challenges and provided policy recommendations.^[7]

In January 2015, Texas Governor Greg Abbott appointed Bowen as Inspector General for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).^[8] His role focused on investigating fraud and ensuring accountability in Texas health services.

On May 10, 2017, Governor Abbott requested Bowen’s resignation following reports that he had performed outside work for a lobbying firm representing the Iraqi government.^[9]