Thomas Von Essen

Who is Thomas Von Essen?

Thomas Von Essen was appointed the 30th FDNY Commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani on April 15, 1996 and served in that position until the end of the Giuliani Administration on December 31, 2001, nearly four months after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Von Essen is also a graduate of St. Francis College, class of '72.

In 2002 he was made an Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1993 Von Essen was elected as President of the Uniformed Firefighters Association representing the department's firefighters: he served in that post until his appointment as the department's 30th Fire Commissioner. He was formerly a Senior Vice-President at Giuliani Partners and Chief Executive Officer of Giuliani-Von Essen LLC.