John Brian Atwood (born 25 July 1942) is an American diplomat and former Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. From 2002 to 2010, he was dean of the

Humphrey School of Public Affairs The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs is a public policy and planning school at the University of Minnesota, a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is named after Hubert H ...

at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Biography

In 1966, Atwood joined the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...

and served as a

foreign service officer A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...

until January 1972. He served in U.S. embassies in Abidjan

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. From 1979 to 1981 as a presidential appointee, he was Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations during the

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter, ...

administration, and also served in the

Foreign Service Institute The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the United States federal government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats as well as other professionals to advance U.S. foreig ...

as dean of Professional Studies and Academic Affairs. From 1986 to 1993 he served as the first president of the

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs The National Democratic Institute (NDI), or National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, is a non-profit American NGO that works with partners in developing countries to increase the effectiveness of democratic institutions. The NDI's ...

. From 1993 to 1999 he served as Administrator of

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

, receiving the

Secretary's Distinguished Service Award The Secretary's Distinguished Service Award is an award of the United States Department of State. It is presented at the discretion of the Secretary of State in recognition of exceptionally outstanding leadership, professional competence, and sig ...

from the

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

. In 2001, Atwood served on

UN Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of the Un ...

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...

's Panel on Peace Operations. He writes frequently on international development, post-conflict reconstruction, foreign policy, the role of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and other multilateral organizations in international affairs, and the United States' role in the world order. In 2010 he was nominated by the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

to serve as the chair of the

Development Assistance Committee The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is a forum to discuss issues surrounding aid, development and poverty reduction in developing countries. It describes itself as being the ...

at the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

. He was elected unanimously by the 24 member states to chair the committee responsible for coordinating the activities of the bilateral donors. He led diplomatic efforts to create a new Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation endorsed by 160 nations, civil society and the private sector. He oversaw the restructuring of the committee, gained consensus for its new policy on engagement with non-members, opened relationships with the emerging economies, advised governments and the OECD Secretary General on a Strategy for Development adopted at OECD ministerial, presided over DAC ministerial and senior-level meetings, and gained consensus agreement on a program of work and budget for the 2013-14 period. In January 2013, J. Brian Atwood returned to the

Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs is a public policy and planning school at the University of Minnesota, a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is named after Hubert ...

as the Chair of Global Policy Studies and Professor of Public Policy at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs,

. Atwood is the

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

Population Services International Population Services International (PSI) is a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit global health organization with programs targeting malaria, child survival, HIV, and reproductive health. PSI provides products, clinical services and behavior chan ...

,Board of Directors
. ''Population Services International''. Accessed on April 11, 2016. and he serves on the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the National Democratic Institute. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in government and history from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

in Boston, Massachusetts, and an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

based in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

He is a member of the

American Academy of Diplomacy The American Academy of Diplomacy is a private, nonprofit, non-partisan, elected organization whose active membership is limited to men and women who have held positions of high responsibility in crafting and implementing American foreign policy. ...

and

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

. Atwood speaks English, French, and Spanish.

Awards

*International Development Council Award for Public Service in Global Leadership, 2001 *Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award, 1999 *Microenterprise Coalition Award for special contribution, 1999 *U.S. Energy Association Award for Public Service, 1998 *National Conservation Achievement Award presented by National Wildlife Foundation, 1996 *Society for International Development Award for contribution to development cooperation, 1996 *Received Senior Executive Service awards for developing mid-level and counter-terrorism training courses at FSI, 1981–82 *International Citizen of the Year Award, International Leadership Institute, 2010 *University of Minnesota President's Award for Distinguished Service J. Brian Atwood Biographical Summary

Publications

*International Innovations, "A Better Future for All," Interview with J. Brian Atwood, January 2013. *"Go Long, Six Actions to Structurally Address Organized Violence." International Peace Institute (IPI), J. Brian Atwood & Erwin van Veen, December 2012. *Center for Global Development Essay, "Creating a Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation," J. Brian Atwood, October 2012. *Creating Global Public Value, Chapter in Edited Book on Creating Public Value, to be published Fall 2013. *Development Cooperation Report 2012, "Lessons Linking Sustainability and Development." Editorial, "Integrating Policy Options to Galvanize Actions for Sustainable Development," J. Brian Atwood Report of the DAC Chair. *Development Cooperation Report 2011, "Fueling the Future of Development." Report of the DAC Chair J. Brian Atwood, 50th Anniversary Edition. *Strengthening EU-US Cooperation on Democracy Support, http://blog.lib.umn.edu/gpa/globalnotes/ blog entry, September 17, 2010 *Politique Americaine, Special issue on "Defense, Diplomacy and Development," Interview with J. Brian Atwood, Autumn, 2010; *North Korea, Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ, May 27, 2010; *Elevating Development Assistance, National Defense University Journal, PRISM, February 2010; *Minnesota Public Radio, Your Voice/Commentaries, Political Appointments Have Proper Place in Foreign Service, September 4, 2009 *Too Good to Fail, Minneapolis Star Tribune Op-ed, March 31, 2009; *Haiti: A Compassionate and Competent Response, Foreign Service Journal, February 2010; *In Defense of War to Advance Peace: The Obama Paradox, Huffington Post, December 14, 2009; *Toward a Brighter Future, A Transatlantic Call For Renewed Leadership and Partnerships in Global Development, 2009. German Marshall Fund Transatlantic Taskforce; Co-author *Why American Foreign Policy Fails: Unsafe at Home and Despised Abroad; Dennis C. Jett, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008; Book review Atwood, J. Brian, Natsios, Andrew. The U.S. Has A Scattershot Approach To Global Poverty, Minneapolis Star Tribune Op-ed, September 19, 2008; *Beyond November, www.undiplomatic.net blog entry, August 7, 2008; *Foreign Policy Priorities for the Next President, www.connectusfund.org blog entry, July 25, 2008; *Atwood, J. Brian, McPherson, M. Peter, Natsios, Andrew. Arrested Development: Making Foreign Aid a More Effective Tool. Foreign Affairs, v. 87 no. 6 (November–December 2008). *The War Powers Resolution in the Age of Terrorism. St. Louis University Law Journal, November 2007. *The Vital Development Mission. Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, Summer/Fall 2005. *Set A Deadline For Getting Out. Star-Tribune Op-ed. October 27, 2005. *Common Ground. Star-Tribune Op-ed. January 9, 2005. *Atwood, J. Brian, Barnett, Michael. Reduce Poverty- Get A Safer World. Christian Science Monitor. November 18, 2004. *Atwood, J. Brian, Jacobs, Lawrence. Rare For an Election Year: In 2004, Foreign Policy Matters. Christian Science Monitor. July 2, 2004. *The G-8 Partnership with Africa, Relevant to All. The World Today (a publication of the Royal Institute for International Studies). June 2004: 26–27. *How Helping Weakest Can Stave Off Terror. Star-Tribune Op-ed. June 8, 2004. *The Link Between Poverty and Violent Conflict. New England Journal of Public Policy. v. 19 no. 1 (2004): 159–165. *The Development Imperative: Creating the Preconditions for Peace. Journal of International Affairs. v. 55 no. 2 (2002): 333–349.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atwood, J. Brian American diplomats Living people 1942 births Administrators of the United States Agency for International Development United States Under Secretaries of State United States Assistant Secretaries of State Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni American expatriates in Ivory Coast American expatriates in Spain Hamilton College (New York) faculty