Lawrence Thomas Di Rita (born March 12, 1958)[1] is an American political advisor who served as an aide to United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

[1][2][3] He served as a United States Navy officer until 1994, at which time Di Rita joined The Heritage Foundation as Deputy Director of Foreign Policy and Defense Studies.

[6] After the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Di Rita was assigned to assist retired Army general Jay Garner, Director of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Affairs (ORHA) in Iraq.

He spent nearly two months in Baghdad helping Garner and ORHA lay the foundation for the arrival of Ambassador L. Paul Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority.

Di Rita returned to Washington and the Department of Defense, where he assumed the responsibilities as chief Pentagon spokesman and head of DoD Public Affairs.