Alexander Vershbow

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Alexander Vershbow

Alexander "Sandy" Russel Vershbow (born July 3, 1952 in Boston , Massachusetts ) is an American diplomat who was, among other things, Permanent Representative of the United States to NATO between 1998 and 2001 , Ambassador to Russia from 2001 to 2005 and between 2005 and was Ambassador to South Korea in 2008 . He then served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs from 2009 to 2012 and as the first US American as Deputy Secretary General of NATO between 2012 and 2016 .

Life

Studies and entry into the diplomatic service

After leaving school, Alexander Russel Vershbow began studying Russian and Eastern European Studies at Yale University , which he completed in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA Russian and East European Studies). A subsequent post-graduate studies in the subject International Relations at Columbia University he graduated in 1976 with a Master of Arts from (MA International Relations). In 1977 he joined the diplomatic service of the US State Department as a Foreign Service Officer and subsequently found numerous posts at foreign missions and at the headquarters of the State Department. After working in the Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs (Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs) between 1977 and 1979 , he was employed at the Embassy in the Soviet Union from 1979 to 1981 and, between 1981 and 1985, in the Department for Affairs of the Soviet Union. He was then between 1985 and 1988 at the embassy in the United Kingdom and temporarily advisor to the US delegation in the talks on the limitation of strategic arms SALT II ( Strategic Arms Limitation Talks ) and the negotiations for the treaty to reduce strategic arms START ( Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty ) .

After his return from London, Sandy Vershbow was head of the Soviet Union (State Department Director for Soviet Union Affairs) from 1988 to 1991 and received the " Natan Sharansky " Peace Prize of the Union of Councils in 1990 for his work to promote Jewish emigration from the USSR of the Soviet Jews. After that, he was used at the Permanent Mission to NATO and was there from 1991 to 1993 Deputy Permanent Representative and Chargé (charge d'affaires) . In this function, he also took part in the NATO summit in November 1991, at which the establishment of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council ( NAAC ) and the first NATO military mission in the Yugoslav wars were decided. Upon his return, he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs between 1993 and 1994 .

Vershbow served on the National Security Council ( NSC ) from 1994 to 1997 as Senior Director for European Affairs and at the same time special assistant to US President Bill Clinton . In these roles, he was instrumental in strengthening US defense ties with allies in Europe and Asia, and in transforming NATO and other European security organizations to meet the challenges of the post Cold War . He was also central to efforts to promote democracy and human rights in the former Soviet Union . involved. In 1997 he was awarded the Joseph J. Kruzel Prize of the US Department of Defense for his contribution to the peace efforts in the Yugoslav Wars .

Ambassador to NATO, Russia and South Korea

Ambassador Alexander Vershbow with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin (October 17, 2001)

On November 10, 1997, Alexander Vershbow replaced Robert E. Hunter as Permanent Representative of the United States to NATO and held this post until his replacement by R. Nicholas Burns on July 9, 2001. After the Račak massacre , an event in the known during the internal phase of the Kosovo conflict , in which on January 15 and 16, 1999 at least 40 people were found in and near the village of Račak ( Albanian Reçak ) in Kosovo , who had been shot by Yugoslav armed forces , he drafted a detailed proposal US and Russian troops pacified the situation, but the US government rejected it. In 2001 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the US State Department for his services as ambassador to NATO .  

He then took over the post of Ambassador to Russia from James Franklin Collins on October 17, 2001 and remained in this post until July 22, 2005, whereupon William Joseph Burns was his successor there. The American Bar Association (ABA) presented him with the “Ambassador's Award” in 2005 for his advocacy for democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Russia . He then succeeded Christopher R. Hill on October 17, 2005, as the ambassador to South Korea and remained in this post until September 18, 2008, when Kathleen Stephens succeeded him there. For his contributions to the negotiations on the free trade agreement between South Korea and the United States, he was honored with the 2007 “ Cordell Hull ” award for economic merit from the US State Department.

Assistant Secretary of Defense and Deputy NATO Secretary General

After leaving the diplomatic service, Alexander Vershbow moved to the Ministry of Defense , where on April 3, 2009, he replaced Mary Beth Long as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs , where he was head of the subdivision for International Security Affairs until February 2012, whereupon Derek Chollet took his place there. In this position, he was responsible for coordinating US security and defense policies with respect to the nations and international organizations of Europe such as NATO, the Middle East and Africa. In 2012, he was awarded the Department of Defense's Distinguished Civilian Service Medal for his services during this period .

In February 2012, Sandy Vershbow succeeded Claudio Bisogniero as the first US American as Deputy Secretary General of NATO . He held this position for four years until October 2016 and was then replaced by Rose Gottemoeller , who in turn became the first woman to become Deputy Secretary General of NATO. He is currently a scientist (Distinguished Fellow ) at the " Brent Scowcroft " center for International Security of the Atlantic Council and is also involved in the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and the European Leadership Network (ELN). He is married to Lisa Verschbow, a well-known jewelry designer and goldsmith.

Web links

Commons : Alexander Vershbow  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ US Permanent Representatives on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on the homepage of the Office of the Historian of the US State Department
  2. ↑ Heinz Loquai: The Kosovo Conflict - Ways to an Avoidable War: the period from the end of November 1997 to March 1999. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden-Baden 2000, ISBN 3-7890-6681-8 , p. 45.
  3. ↑ Chiefs of Mission for Russia on the homepage of the Office of the Historian of the US State Department
  4. ↑ Chiefs of Mission for Korea on the homepage of the Office of the Historian of the US State Department
  5. ^ Entry on the homepage of the Atlantic Council
  6. ↑ Entry on the homepage of the European Leadership Network
personal data
SURNAME Vershbow, Alexander
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vershbow, Alexander Russel; Sandy Vershbow (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American diplomat and political scientist
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd July 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Boston , Massachusetts