Dr. Richard N. Haass

Overview

Dr. Richard N. Haass became a member of our Board in February 2007. Dr. Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations, a position he has held since July 2003. Prior to his current position, Dr. Haass was director of policy planning for the U.S. Department of State, where he was a principal adviser to Secretary of State Colin Powell on a broad range of foreign policy concerns, and acted as U.S. coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and the lead U.S. government official in support of the Northern Ireland peace process. From 1989 to 1993, Dr. Haass 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. Previously, he served in various posts in the United States Departments of State and Defense. Dr. Haass has received the State Department's Distinguished Honor Award and the Presidential Citizens Medal. Dr. Haass has been director of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution and taught at or been associated in various capacities with Hamilton College, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Dr. Haass holds a bachelor"s from Oberlin College and both a Master and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Oxford University.