Mark D. Agrast

Mark David Agrast (born 1956) is an American lawyer who was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice, overseeing criminal and national security matters for the department's Office of Legislative Affairs. In October 2014, he became the executive director of the American Society of International Law.

Early life and education

Agrast earned a bachelor's degree in 1978 from Case Western Reserve University. He attended the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar from 1978 until 1981, and then earned a J.D. degree from Yale Law School in 1985. In 1993, Agrast helped to form the Lesbian and Gay Congressional Staff Association. Agrast served as the legislative director for Studds' successor, U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt, from 1997 until 2003. In 2003, Agrast joined the liberal Center for American Progress public policy research and advocacy organization as senior vice president for domestic policy. He later became a Senior Fellow at the Center.

Personal

Agrast is openly gay. In 2007 in an article in The Washington Post, he criticized the practice of outing closeted gays. "To many of us, coming-out is a process, a very personal journey dictated by the individual. My objection to outing is not about the people who are being outed. It's about us," Agrast told the paper. He also expressed sympathy for then-Sen. Larry Craig, who had been arrested for lewd conduct in a men's restroom. "We don't have to admire the choices that Craig has made in his life to feel some compassion for a 62-year-old man who seeks anonymous encounters because he can't come to terms with who he is."