Paul Abbate

Golden Gov: Federal Executive of the Year

A long-time FBI official, Paul Abbate has been serving as deputy director of the FBI since February 2021. In his current role he oversees investigative and intelligence activity domestically and internationally, but his career at the agency started in 1996. Abbate’s first role was as a special agent in the criminal division of the New York Field Office and a member of the SWAT team. Since then, he deployed to Iraq as an FBI liaison to the Defense Department, deployed to Libya and Afghanistan as an on-scene commander, and served in leadership roles within the Washington Field Office, Los Angeles Field Office, and Detroit Division. In 2016, he was appointed as executive assistant director for the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch and in 2018 he was named associate deputy director of the FBI. His most recent leadership roles at the agency have spanned two presidential administrations. Abbate was in the national spotlight this year when he testified before Congress on the FBI’s investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.