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 Rudolph Giuliani Administration on December 31, 2001, nearly four months after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Prior to serving as Commissioner, he was New York City firefighter since 1970, Mr. Von Essen was elected as President of the Uniformed Firefighters Association in 1993.

Since returning to the private sector in 2002, Mr. Von Essen has been a fire and life safety consultant for many respected organizations, including Honeywell and Underwriters Laboratories.

In 2002, Mr. Von Essen was made an Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.

Mr. Von Essen graduated from St. Francis College and received his Masters Degree from Long Island University/C.W. Post campus.