Alejandro “Hoot” Baez, representing the US Department of State, is a national security affairs fellow for 2012–2013 at the Hoover Institution.

Baez earned undergraduate degrees in political science and philosophy from Southern Methodist University and a master’s in political science from Texas A&M University. He also holds a master’s in defense and security analysis from England’s Lancaster University. A career diplomat, Baez was most recently detailed to the White House as the director for NATO and Western Europe on the National Security Staff. He previously served at the US Mission to NATO in Brussels and on the State Department’s NATO desk. Baez also served as the deputy counselor for political-military affairs at the US Embassy in Baghdad. His other overseas tours include the US Embassy in Moscow, Russia, and the office of the American consulate general in Chennai, India. In Washington, he served as the special assistant (Europe and Eurasia) to the undersecretary of state for political affairs and as a watch officer in the State Department’s 24/7 Operations Center.