James Andrew Courter

James Andrew Courter (also known as Jim Courter) is Chairman of the Lexington Institute and "CEO and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the IDT Corporation, (NYSE:IDT,IDT.B) a leading facilities-based multinational telecommunications carrier based in Newark, New Jersey. Mr. Courter also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the company's subsidiaries IDT Telecom, IDT Media, and IDT Winstar.

"Beginning in 1971, Mr. Courter was a senior partner in the New Jersey law firm of Courter, Kobert, Laufer & Cohen. He was a partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand from January 1994 to September 1996.

"His career in public service included representing New Jersey's 12th congressional district as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 12 years, from 1979 until 1991. He was elected as the Republican Party's nominee for Governor of New Jersey in 1989. From 1991 to 1994, Mr. Courter held the cabinet level position of chairman of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission having been appointed by both President George Herbert Walker Bush and President Bill Clinton; the Commission oversaw the restructuring of the United States' domestic military base infrastructure.

"After law school Mr. Courter became a Peace Corps volunteer in Venezuela. He is Chairman of the Lexington Institute, a think tank dedicated to resolving issues of foreign policy, national security, and international trade. Mr. Courter currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the Graduate School of Management at Rutgers, he is a member of the Board of Trustees for Berkley Colleges, and is a member of the Drew University Board of Visitors. Mr. Courter is on the Board of Trustees of the Newark Museum, is a member of the New Jersey Network Foundation Board of Trustees, and was named an adjunct professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Mr. Courter also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Liberty Science Center, the Board of Trustees of the Newark Alliance, and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Centenary College.

"A lifelong resident of New Jersey, Jim Courter received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University and a Juris Doctorate degree from Duke University School of Law."

Jim Courter was chairman of the 'Committee for the Common Defense' at Alexis de Tocqueville Institution which was in 1995 responsible for writing a pro B2-bomber  letter that seven former Secretaries of Defense (representing every Democratic and Republican Administration since Richard Nixon) signed. (See also: AdTI-Funding)

He wrote 2 books:
 * Jim Courter, Defending Democracy, American Studies Center, June 1, 1986 ISBN 0931727049 A collection of speeches and essays on matters of national security.
 * Jim Courter, Defense Base Closure & Realignment Commission: Report to the President, Diane Publishing Co, April 1, 1994 ISBN 0788106953