home > the cfr think tank > experts > richard n. haass
President, Council on Foreign Relations
Contact Info:
Phone: +1-212-434-9543; for all media requests, contact Lisa Shields at +1-212-434-9888 or lshields@cfr.org
E-mail: president@cfr.org
Location:
New York, NY
Media downloads:
One-page bio (PDF, 49K)
Video clip (MP4, 1.9 MB)
Video clip (MP4, 689K)
Expertise:
U.S. foreign policy; international security; globalization; Asia; Middle East
Experience:Dr. Richard Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations, a position he has held since July2003. The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization,think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries.
Dr. Haass is the author or editor of ten books on American foreign policy. His most recent book, The Opportunity: America's Moment to Alter History's Course, was published by Public Affairs. He is also the author of one book on management: The Bureaucratic Entrepreneur: How to Be Effective in Any Unruly Organization.
From January 2001 to June 2003, Dr. Richard Haass was director of policy planning for the Department of State, where he was a principal adviser to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold the rank of ambassador, Dr. Haass also served as U.S. coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and was the lead U.S. government official in support of the Northern Ireland peace process. For his efforts, he received the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award.
Dr. Haass has extensive additional government experience. From 1989 to 1993, he was special assistant to President George H. W. Bush and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. In 1991, Dr. Haass was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for his contributions to the development and articulation of U.S. policy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Previously, he served in the Departments of State (1981-85) and Defense (1979-80) and was a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate.
Dr. Haass also was vice president and director of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, the Sol M. Linowitz visiting professor of international studies at Hamilton College, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a lecturer in public policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Haass holds a BA from Oberlin College and the Master and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Oxford University. He has received honorary doctorates from Hamilton College, Franklin & Marshall College, and Georgetown University.
Dr. Richard Haass was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1951. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.
Past Research Projects
December 8, 2008
Op-Ed
Newsweek
Richard Haass writes that "Americans must accept China's rise. There's no guarantee we could prevent it anyway, and the attempt would only worsen the rivalry."
See more in China, U.S. Election 2008
December 2, 2008
Audio
Listen to experts discuss the recommendations of the new report Restoring the Balance: A Middle East Strategy for the Next President, advocating a new approach in the region, focusing on the Arab-Israeli peace process and Iran's nuclear program.
See more in Middle East, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Presidency
December 2, 2008
Video
Watch experts discuss the recommendations of the new report Restoring the Balance: A Middle East Strategy for the Next President, advocating a new approach in the region, focusing on the Arab-Israeli peace process and Iran's nuclear program.
See more in Middle East, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Presidency
December 1, 2008
Transcript
Session I of a Council on Foreign Relations Symposium on the U.S.-Japan Partnership: An Agenda for Change.
December 1, 2008
Video
Watch experts reflect on global challenges such as the rise of China, climate change, and energy security and how these affect the U.S.-Japan partnership.
This session was part of the CFR Symposium on the U.S.-Japan Partnership: An Agenda for Change, cosponsored with the Asahi Shimbun.
See more in Japan, U.S. Strategy and Politics
December 1, 2008
Audio
Listen to experts reflect on global challenges such as the rise of China, climate change, and energy security and how these affect the U.S.-Japan partnership.
This session was part of the CFR Symposium on the U.S.-Japan Partnership: An Agenda for Change, cosponsored with the Asahi Shimbun.
See more in Japan, U.S. Strategy and Politics
November 15, 2008
Audio
Listen to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev speak about U.S.-Russia relations in the next administration with former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright.
See more in Russian Fed., U.S. Strategy and Politics
November 15, 2008
Video
Watch Russian President Dmitry Medvedev speak about U.S.-Russia relations in the next administration with former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright.
See more in Russian Fed., U.S. Strategy and Politics
November 12, 2008
Audio
LIsten to David J. O'Reilly, chairman and chief executive officer, Chevron Corporation, make remarks about U.S. energy security and energy's role in the economy.
See more in Energy, Energy Security
November 12, 2008
Transcript
See more in Business & Foreign Policy, Energy
November 12, 2008
Video
Watch David J. O'Reilly, chairman and chief executive officer, Chevron Corporation, make remarks about U.S. energy security and energy's role in the economy.
See more in Business & Foreign Policy, Energy, Energy Security
November 12, 2008
Transcript
Remarks by David J. O'Reilly, chairman and chief executive officer of Chevron Corporation, on U.S. energy security and energy's role in the economy.
See more in Business & Foreign Policy, Financial Crises
November 8, 2008
Op-Ed
Wall Street Journal
Richard Haass writes that "what happens in the economic realm will spill over into the political and strategic ones."
See more in Financial Crises, U.S. Strategy and Politics
November 5, 2008
Interview
CFR President Richard N. Haass, who worked on previous presidential transitions, says that given the current world situation, he believes the first priority for President-elect Barack Obama lies in "the financial and economic side," and that "the near-term foreign policy challenges are probably Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, [and] a little bit of Iraq."
See more in United States, U.S. Election 2008
October 25, 2008
Article
Newsweek
Richard Haass writes that "the United States cannot dominate, much less dictate, and expect that others will follow."
See more in U.S. Election 2008
October 21, 2008
Op-Ed
South China Morning Post
Richard N. Haass discusses foreign policy differences between the two presidential candidates.
See more in U.S. Strategy and Politics, U.S. Election 2008
October 17, 2008
Audio
Listen to experts discuss the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine with regard to the United States' and other governments' response to genocide and mass suffering.
This session was part of the CFR Symposium on International Law and Justice, which was made possible through the generous support of the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.
See more in Democracy and Human Rights, International Law
October 17, 2008
Video
Watch experts discuss the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine with regard to the United States' and other governments' response to genocide and mass suffering.
This session was part of the CFR Symposium on International Law and Justice, which was made possible through the generous support of the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.
See more in Democracy and Human Rights, International Law
September 22, 2008
Must Read
Dealing with Iran and its nuclear program will be an urgent priority for the next president
See more in United States, Iran, Defense Strategy, Weapons of Mass Destruction
September 22, 2008
Audio
Listen to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, president of Argentina, discuss her country's economic growth since 2001 and the successes of multilateralism in Latin America.
See more in Argentina
In The Closing of the American Border, Edward Alden goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the Bush administration’s struggle to balance security and openness in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In Termites in the Trading System, Jagdish Bhagwati reveals how the rapid spread of preferential trade agreements endangers the world trading system.
America Between the Wars explores how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Twin Towers shaped the events, arguments, and politics of the world we live in today.
Complete list of CFR Books.
This report lays out a thoughtful agenda for U.S. policy toward the Democratic Republic of Congo, arguing that what happens there should matter to the United States--for humanitarian reasons as well as economic and strategic ones.
In this report, CFR Senior Fellow Michael A. Levi analyzes the potential use of deterrence in preventing terrorist groups from acquiring nuclear weapons and recommends a new approach to U.S. declaratory policy, as well as ways to improve U.S. capabilities to determine the sources of terrorist attacks.
Complete list of Council Special Reports.
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
Gary Samore
Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1.212.434.9627
gsamore@cfr.org
Sebastian Mallaby
Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for
Geoeconomic Studies, Deputy Director of Studies, and Paul A. Volcker Senior
Fellow for International Economics
smallaby@cfr.org
Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1.212.434.9753
jhill@cfr.org
Copyright 2008 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
