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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
September 22, 2008
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September 22, 2008
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September 20, 2008
Op-Ed
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Richard N. Haass writes that "understanding how a candidate thinks about the world gives a better sense of how he is likely to react to both opportunity and crisis."
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September 17, 2008
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Listen to Ted Sorenson, speechwriter for President John F. Kennedy, discuss his recent autobiography.
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September 17, 2008
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September 17, 2008
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A discussion of the book "Counselor"
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September 5, 2008
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Symposium on Iran focusing on policy options and recommendations for the next administration.
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September 5, 2008
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Listen to experts discuss current U.S. policy toward Iran and options for the next administration.
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September 5, 2008
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Watch experts discuss current U.S. policy toward Iran and options for the next administration.
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September 4, 2008
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Listen to experts discuss the role of democracy promotion in U.S. foreign policy as part of a three-day symposium during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, cosponsored with the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
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September 4, 2008
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Watch experts discuss the role of democracy promotion in U.S. foreign policy as part of a three-day symposium during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, cosponsored with the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
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September 4, 2008
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A panel discussion on Democracy and American leadership.
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September 3, 2008
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Listen to experts discuss U.S. foreign policy with regard to the Middle East as part of a three-day symposium during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, cosponsored with the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
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September 3, 2008
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Watch experts discuss U.S. foreign policy with regard to the Middle East as part of a three-day symposium during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, cosponsored with the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
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September 3, 2008
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A Panel discusses the existing problems in the Greater Middle East, and possible solutions.
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September 2, 2008
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Listen to experts discuss the various foreign policy challenges the next U.S. administration will face as part of a three-day symposium during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, cosponsored with the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
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September 2, 2008
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September 2, 2008
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Panelists discuss Foreign Policy challenges
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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.
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.
In this report, Bruce W. MacDonald illuminates the strategic landscape of military space competition between the United States and China and highlights the dangers and opportunities the United States confronts in space.
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
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