William McGurn


William McGurn is an American writer. He was the chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush from June 2006 until February 2008, replacing Michael Gerson.

Early life

McGurn was born December 4, 1958, in San Diego. He received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 1981; he later earned a master's degree in communications from Boston University.

Career

He began his career as the managing editor at the American Spectator. In 1989, he moved to National Review where he was the Washington Bureau Chief until 1992. From 1992 to 1998, McGurn served as the senior editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review. He then became Chief Editorial Writer for The Wall Street Journal. He joined the White House as a speechwriter in February 2005. He became the Chief Speechwriter for President George W. Bush in 2006. In February 2008 he departed to become a Visiting Fellow at Hillsdale College. Early in 2009 he joined News Corporation, which had bought The Wall Street Journal in August 2007, as the speechwriter for News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch. In December 2012, he became Editorial Page Editor of the New York Post. He rejoined News Corp. as a columnist for The Wall Street Journal in April 2015 where he now writes the Main Street column; he is also an executive at its parent company.

Personal life

McGurn and his wife, Julie Hoffman, live in Madison, New Jersey. They previously lived in Hong Kong where they adopted three daughters from China.