R. Nicholas Burns

R. Nicholas Burns
19th Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
In office 2005–2008
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Marc Grossman
Succeeded by	William Joseph Burns
17th United States Permanent Representative to NATO
In office 2001–2005
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Alexander Vershbow
Succeeded by	Victoria Nuland
United States Ambassador to Greece
In office 1997–2001
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Thomas M. T. Niles
Succeeded by	Thomas J. Miller
Personal details
Born	January 28, 1956 Buffalo, New York
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth A. Baylies
Children	Sarah Elizabeth Caroline
Alma mater	Boston College University of Paris (Sorbonne) Johns Hopkins University

R. Nicholas Burns (born January 28, 1956) is a university professor, columnist, lecturer and former American diplomat. He is currently Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a member of the Board of Directors of the school's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. At the Harvard Kennedy School, he is Director of The Future of Diplomacy Project and Faculty Chair for the programs on the Middle East and India and South Asia. He is Director of the Aspen Strategy Group, Senior Counselor at the Cohen Group and serves on the Board of Directors of Entegris, Inc. He writes a biweekly column on foreign affairs for the Boston Globe and is a senior foreign affairs columnist for GlobalPost. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, Special Olympics, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Atlantic Council, the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, American Media Abroad, the Gennadius Library and the Richard Lounsberry Foundation. He is Vice Chairman of the American Ditchley Foundation and serves on the Panel of Senior Advisors at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs. During his career in the State Department, he was United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs within the United States Department of State. Appointed by President George W. Bush, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 17, 2005 and was sworn into office by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. As Under Secretary, he oversaw the bureau's responsible for U.S. policy in each region of the world and served in the senior career Foreign Service position at the Department. He retired on April 30, 2008. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington D.C. in summer 2008. In July 2009, Burns joined The Cohen Group, a consulting firm in Washington D.C, as a Senior Counselor.

Personal life

Burns was born in Buffalo, New York, and raised in Wellesley, Massachusetts. He and his wife Elizabeth A. Baylies have three daughters: Sarah, Elizabeth and Caroline.

Education

Burns attended Wellesley High School,^[1] and studied abroad in Luxembourg in 1973 with the American Field Service Program. He is a 1978 graduate of Boston College where he earned a B.A. in History concentrating on European History and the Certificat Pratique de Langue Française during his junior year at the University of Paris (Sorbonne). He received a master's degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1980 in International Relations concentrating on International Economics, American Foreign Policy and Africa.

He speaks French, Arabic, and Greek as well as English.

Awards

Burns has received honorary doctorates from twelve American universities. In 2001, he was given the Public Service Award by the Boston College Alumni Association. In 2002, he was presented the Woodrow Wilson Award for Distinguished Government Service by Johns Hopkins University. He was named Communicator of the Year by the National Association of Government Communicators in 1997. In 2008, he was given the Trainor Award for Diplomacy by Georgetown University.

Career

Before entering the Foreign Service, Mr. Burns worked as Program Officer at A.T. International, a non-profit organization specializing in economic assistance for Third World Countries.

Burns began his Foreign Service career in Africa and the Middle East. He was an intern at the U.S. Embassy in Nouakchott, Mauritania, Vice Consul and Staff Assistant to the Ambassador in Cairo, Egypt, from 1983 to 1985, and then Political Officer at the American Consulate General in Jerusalem from 1985 to 1987, where his second daughter Elizabeth was born in 1986. In this position, he coordinated U.S. economic assistance to the Palestinian population in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Under President George H. W. Bush, he was Director for Soviet (and then Russian) Affairs. During this time, he attended all U.S. – Soviet summits and numerous other international meetings and specialized on economic assistance issues, U.S. ties with Russia and Ukraine, and relations with the Baltic countries. He was a member of the Department’s Transition Team in 1988, and served as Staff Officer in the Department’s Operations Center and Secretariat in 1987-1988.

Burns served for five years (1990–1995) on the National Security Council staff at the White House. He was Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton and Senior Director for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Affairs. He had lead responsibility in the White House for advising the President on all aspects of U.S. relations with the fifteen countries of the former Soviet Union.

From 1995 to 1997, Burns was Spokesman of the Department of State and Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs for Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Secretary Madeleine Albright. In this position, he gave daily press conferences on U.S. foreign policy issues, accompanied both Secretaries of State on all their foreign trips and coordinated all of the Department’s public outreach programs.

From 1997 to 2001, Burns was U.S. Ambassador to Greece. During his tenure as Ambassador, the U.S. expanded its military and law enforcement cooperation with Greece, strengthened their partnership in the Balkans, increased trade and investment and people-to-people programs.

Prior to his final assignment, Burns was the United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As Ambassador to NATO, he headed the combined State-Defense Department U.S. Mission to NATO at a time when the Alliance committed to new missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and the global war against terrorism, and accepted seven new members.

On January 18, 2008, Burns announced his retirement from the Foreign Service effective March 2008. The reason cited was to go back to family concerns and to pursue other opportunities outside of government.^[2][3] A White House press statement stated that Burns would continue to serve in an advisory capacity as the United States Special Envoy in finalizing the United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act.

At the Harvard Kennedy School, Burns is teaching courses in diplomacy, American foreign policy, and international politics. He is a strong advocate for diplomacy, and has argued that the United States "should make a very strong effort to get to the negotiating table with Iran." <ref name=Belfer Center Newsletter, Harvard Kennedy School'>"Q&A with Nicholas Burns". Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. Winter 2008–2009. Retrieved 2008-10-30.</ref> Burns is also an active speaker on the lecture circuit.

Memberships

Burns is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, The Trilateral Commission, The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Order of St. John, the America Abroad Media advisory board,^[4] and is a lifelong member of Red Sox Nation.^[5]

References

1. Charles Truehart (Winter 2003). "The diplomat". Boston College Magazine.
2. Janine, Zacharia; Viola Gienger (2008-01-18). "Burns, Rice's Point Man on Iran and India Talks, to Resign Post". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
3. "Announcement of Departure of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns". US Department of State. 2008-01-18. Archived from the original on 2008-01-19. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
4. Archived January 25, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
5. U.S. Department of State. "R. Nicholas Burns". Biography of R. Nicholas Burns.

External links

• Burns' bio at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center
• US diplomat calls for Iran action
• 'Victorious' Kazakhs Told To Wait On OSCE Decision