DEA Leadership
Administrator Anne Milgram
Anne Milgram was sworn in as DEA Administrator on June 28, 2021, after being confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent on June 24, 2021. As Administrator, she leads an agency of nearly 10,000 public servants who work in DEA’s 334 offices across the globe.
Prior to assuming her duties at the DEA, Milgram served as New Jersey’s Attorney General from 2007 to 2010. In that role, Milgram was New Jersey’s chief law enforcement officer, led the 9,000-person Department of Law & Public Safety, and had oversight responsibility for state and county prosecutors and more than 30,000 local law enforcement officers. During her tenure as Attorney General, Milgram also oversaw, and significantly transformed, the Camden Police Department, leading it to today being viewed as a model for effective, data-driven policing. Most recently, she served as a Professor of Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at New York University School of Law where she developed programs on using data, analytics, and technology in law enforcement.
Milgram began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. She then served as a federal prosecutor in the United States Department of Justice, where she was the Special Litigation Counsel for the prosecution of human trafficking crimes. Milgram was awarded the Department of Justice Commendation for Outstanding Service and the Department of Justice Director’s Award for her work.
After graduating summa cum laude from Rutgers University, Milgram received a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge and a law degree from New York University School of Law. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Anne E. Thompson of the District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Principal Deputy Administrator George S. Papadopoulos
George S. Papadopoulos was appointed as DEA Principal Deputy Administrator, effective July 4, 2023. Papadopoulos serves as the principal assistant to the DEA Administrator and leads an agency of nearly 10,000 public servants who work in DEA’s 334 offices across the globe.
Papadopoulos most recently served as the agency’s Acting Chief of Operations and previously served as the agency’s Deputy Chief of Operations. In these capacities, he oversaw all operational and enforcement matters for DEA and, before that, was the primary advisor to the DEA’s Chief of Operations on all international issues.
Papadopoulos began his career with DEA in 1996 as a Special Agent in the Detroit Field Division. In 2004, he deployed to Greece where he was responsible for DEA activities and investigations throughout Greece, Northern Macedonia, and Romania. Upon his return to the United States, Papadopoulos was assigned to DEA’s Special Operations Bilateral Investigations Unit (BIU). There he focused on international drug trafficking organizations operating throughout the Western Hemisphere and later coordinated multi-national and multi-jurisdictional operations throughout Mexico and Central America. He served as Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the BIU from 2015 to 2021.
Papadopoulos is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago.