Richard Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations, a position he has held since July 2003. He holds a B.A. from Oberlin College and both the Master's and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Oxford University. Haass is the author or editor of eleven books on American foreign policy. Until June 2003, Richard Haass was Director of Policy Planning for the Department of State, where he was a principal advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell on a broad range of foreign policy concerns. Confirmed by the US Senate to hold the rank of ambassador, Haass served as US coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and was the lead US government official in support of the Northern Ireland peace process. For his efforts, he received the State Department's Distinguished Honor Award. Ambassador Haass has extensive additional government experience. From 1989 to 1993, he was Special Assistant to President George Bush and Senior Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. In 1991, he 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 various posts in the Departments of State (1981-85) and Defense (1979-80) and was a legislative aide in the US Senate.
Photo: © 2006 Mike Minehan