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John Dimitri Negroponte (; born July 21, 1939) is an American diplomat. He is currently a James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor at the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. He is a former J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of International Affairs at the
George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...
's
Elliott School of International Affairs The Elliott School of International Affairs (known as the Elliott School or ESIA) is the professional school of international relations, foreign policy, and international development of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. It ...
. Prior to this appointment, he served as a research fellow and lecturer in international affairs at
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs,
United States Deputy Secretary of State The deputy secretary of state of the United States is the principal deputy to the secretary of state. The current deputy secretary of state is Wendy Ruth Sherman, serving since April 2021 under secretary of state Antony Blinken. If the secretar ...
(2007–2009), and the first ever
Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior, cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Comm ...
(2005–2007). Negroponte served in 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 carry ...
from 1960 to 1997. From 1981 to 1996, he had tours of duty as
United States ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U. ...
in
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
,
Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Gua ...
, and the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. After leaving the Foreign Service, he subsequently served in the Bush Administration as U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations from 2001 to 2004, and was ambassador to
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
from June 2004 to April 2005. In November 2010, some of Negroponte's letters were released on the website
WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...
.


Early life and education

Negroponte was born in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, United Kingdom, on July 21, 1939, to Greek parents (1915–1996) and Catherine Coumantaros Negroponte (1916–2000). His father was a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
shipping magnate and alpine skier who competed in the
1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (german: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 ( bar, Garmasch-Partakurch 1936), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 ...
. Negroponte attended the
Allen-Stevenson School Allen-Stevenson is a private boys school for kindergarten through 8th grade in New York City, New York. It opened in 1883 and moved to its present location at 132 East 78th Street in 1924. History The Allen School was founded in 1883 by Fran ...
and The Buckley School and graduated from
Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...
in 1956 and
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
in 1960. He was a member of Fence Club (
Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some of which ...
fraternity), alongside William H. T. Bush, the brother of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...
, and Porter Goss, who served as
Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security C ...
and
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office () that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community. Beginning February 2017, the D ...
under Negroponte from 2005 to 2006. After less than a semester at
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class i ...
, Negroponte joined the Foreign Service in 1960. He served at eight different Foreign Service posts in Asia (including the U.S. Embassy, Saigon), Europe and Latin America, and he also held important positions at the
State Department 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 nat ...
and the White House. As a young Foreign Service officer—one of the few men in Washington who dared to openly disagree with Henry Kissinger's secret handling of the Vietnam peace talks—Negroponte attempted to convince his superior that any peace agreement negotiated without the consent of South Vietnam's leader
Nguyen Van Thieu Nguyễn () is the most common Vietnamese surname. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as Nguyen. Nguyên (元)is a different word and surname. By some estimates 39 percent of Vietnamese people bear this ...
would be doomed to failure.
Seymour Hersh Seymour Myron "Sy" Hersh (born April 8, 1937) is an American investigative journalist and political writer. Hersh first gained recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received ...
claims in his book ''The Price of Power'' that Kissinger never forgave Negroponte, and, upon becoming Secretary of State, exiled him to Quito, Ecuador. Ironically, this was to be the beginning of Negroponte's long distinguished career as an ambassador. In 1981, he became the U.S. Ambassador to
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
. From 1985 to 1987, Negroponte held the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. Subsequently, he served as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, from 1987 to 1989; Ambassador to
Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Gua ...
, from 1989 to 1993; and Ambassador to the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
from 1993 to 1996. As Deputy National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan, he was involved in the campaign to remove from power General
Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator, politician and military officer who was the ''de facto'' ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. An authoritarian ruler who amassed a personal f ...
in
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...
. From 1997 until his appointment as ambassador to the U.N., Negroponte was an executive with
McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes referen ...
.


Career


Ambassador to Honduras (1981–1985)

From 1981 to 1985, Negroponte was the U.S. ambassador to
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
. During this time, military aid to Honduras grew from $4 million to $77.4 million a year, and the US began to maintain a significant military presence there, with the goal of overthrowing the revolutionary
Sandinista The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto C� ...
government of
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
, which had overthrown the Somoza dictatorship in a civil war. The previous U.S. ambassador to Honduras, Jack Binns, who was appointed by President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...
, made numerous complaints about human rights abuses by the Honduran Army under the government of
Policarpo Paz García Policarpo Juan Paz García (7 December 1932 – 16 April 2000) was a Honduran military leader who served as President of Honduras from 7 August 1978 until 27 January 1982. Biography Paz Garcia was born in 1932 in La Arada, Goascoran, Valle ...
. After the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, Binns was replaced by Negroponte, who has denied any knowledge of wrongdoing by the Honduran Army. In 1995, ''The
Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' published an extensive investigation of U.S. activities in Honduras. Speaking of Negroponte and other senior U.S. officials, an ex-Honduran congressman, Efraín Díaz, was quoted as saying:
Their attitude was one of tolerance and silence. They needed Honduras to loan its territory more than they were concerned about innocent people being killed.
Substantial evidence subsequently emerged to support the contention that Negroponte knew serious violations of human rights were being committed by the Honduran government, but despite this he did not recommend ending U.S. military aid to Honduras.
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the ...
Christopher Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history. ...
of Connecticut, on September 14, 2001, as reported in the ''Congressional Record'', aired his suspicions on the occasion of Negroponte's nomination to the position of UN ambassador:
Based upon the Committee's review of State Department and CIA documents, it would seem that Ambassador Negroponte knew far more about human rights abuses perpetrated by the Honduran government than he chose to share with the committee in 1989 or in embassy contributions at the time to annual State Department Human Rights reports.
Among other evidence, Dodd cited a cable sent by Negroponte, in 1985, that made it clear that Negroponte was aware of the threat of "future human rights abuses" by "secret operating cells" left over by General Gustavo Álvarez Martínez, the chief of the Honduran armed forces, after he was forcibly removed from his post by fellow military commanders in 1984.The cables reveal that Negroponte repeatedly urged reform of the Honduran criminal code and justice system to replace arbitrary measures taken by the Honduran government after events such as the destruction of the nation's main power plant at Tegucigalpa and the abduction of the entire business establishment of San Pedro Sula, Honduras' second largest city, in 1982. Negroponte's predecessor as Ambassador, Carter appointee Jack Binns acknowledged that human rights abuses committed by the Honduran Army were supported by military assistance from the Argentine junta and the CIA during the Carter administration, and that neither the Honduran government nor the CIA kept the embassy informed of what it was doing. The scale of the carnage in Honduras was limited to less than 300 'disappearances' during the five years of the Negroponte and Binns ambassadorships as compared with 70,000 lost lives as a result of civil war and repression in El Salvador, notwithstanding that Honduras was involved in a low-level civil war punctuated at times by invasions of its territory. In April 2005, as the Senate confirmation hearings for the National Intelligence post were held, hundreds of documents were released by the State Department in response to a FOIA request by ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nat ...
''. The documents, cables that Negroponte sent to Washington while serving as ambassador to Honduras, indicated that he played a more active role than previously known in managing US efforts against the leftist Sandinista government next door in Nicaragua. According to the ''Post'', the image of Negroponte that emerges from the cables is that of an:
exceptionally energetic, action-oriented ambassador whose anti-communist convictions led him to downplay human rights abuses in Honduras, the most reliable U.S. ally in the region. There is little in the documents the State Department has released so far to support his assertion that he used "quiet diplomacy" to persuade the Honduran authorities to investigate the most egregious violations, including the mysterious disappearance of dozens of government opponents.
The ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote that the documents revealed:
a tough cold warrior who enthusiastically carried out President Ronald Reagan's strategy. They show he sent admiring reports to Washington about the Honduran Army chief, who was blamed for human rights violations, warned that peace talks with the Nicaraguan government might be a dangerous "Trojan horse" and pleaded with officials in Washington to impose greater secrecy on the Honduran role in aiding the contras.
The cables show that Mr. Negroponte worked closely with William J. Casey, then director of central intelligence, on the Reagan administration's anti-Communist offensive in Central America. He helped word a secret 1983 presidential "finding" authorizing support for the Contras, as the Nicaraguan rebels were known, and met regularly with Honduran military officials to win and retain their backing for the covert action.
Both papers based their stories on cables obtained by a ''Post'' FOIA request. George Washington University's National Security Archive writes of:
dozens of cables in which the Ambassador sought to undermine regional peace efforts such as the Contadora initiative that ultimately won Costa Rican president Oscar Arias a Nobel Prize, as well as multiple reports of meetings and conversations with Honduran military officers who were instrumental in providing logistical support and infrastructure for CIA covert operations in support of the contras against Nicaragua—"our special project" as Negroponte refers to the contra war in the cable traffic.
Negroponte was opposed to early drafts of peace settlements on the ground that they would have left undisturbed what he described as an enormous threat presented by expansion of the Nicaraguan armed forces with Soviet and Cuban aid. In his tenure in Honduras, Negroponte steered a middle course between State Department and journalistic critics who favored a policy of nonresistance to the militarization of the Sandinista regime to power Nicaragua and its aid to rebel movements in Honduras and El Salvador and 'hard line' persons within the Reagan administration who would have involved the United States in Central America through actions such as blockades, bombing of Nicaraguan airfields, the provision of offensive weapons, and the installation of permanent military bases. A study of American policy has noted that "the United States had a great deal to do with the preservation of Honduran stability. Had it not been for U.S. enticements and pressures elections probably would not have been held in 1980 and 1981. The perpetuation of the military dictatorship would have undermined the legitimacy of the political order, making it far more vulnerable to revolutionary turmoil. By the same token, strong North American opposition to President Suazo's attempt to remain in power in 1985 helped preserve the fragile legitimacy that had been built over the preceding five years ... massive economic aid prevented the economy's collapse ... without the United States, it might well have disintegrated into chaos." Following Bush-Gorbachev meetings beginning in 1986, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union ended military support for 'proxy wars', in Central America, and free elections in Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador followed. Senator Bill Bradley regarded the whole episode as "a minor issue--the supply of arms to the Nicaraguan contras, a policy that took on monumental proportions inside the Beltway and upon those liberals who saw another quagmire in every exercise of military power."


Assistant Secretary for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries (1985–1989)

In this posting, Negroponte together with Ambassador Richard Benedick negotiated the Montreal Protocol on Ozone, the most successful modern environmental treaty, overcoming opposition from Europe, Russia, and China and from some Reagan administration officials. (R. Benedick, Ozone Diplomacy: New Directions in Safeguarding the Planet (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard, 1998), 101) He also fostered scientific cooperation with the Soviet Union clashing with 'hard liners' like Richard Perle as well as two treaties relating to cooperation in dealing with nuclear accidents in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster.


Ambassador to Mexico (1989–1993)

During Negroponte's tour as US Ambassador to Mexico, he was instrumental in persuading the Bush administration to respond to a Mexican initiative by negotiating the
North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
despite initial opposition by the U.S. Office of Trade Representative. His tenure in Mexico was thus the most consequential of any modern American ambassadorship. It was observed twenty years later that "Every so often, there comes to light a document revealing the foresight of a public servant who grasped the full consequences and implications of a particular government measure or policy. Such a document was written in the spring of 1991 by the then U.S.Ambassador to Mexico, John Negroponte." Another commentator noted the subsequent proliferation of Negroponte's vision in other free trade agreements. He officiated at the block-long, fortified embassy where he liberalized visa practices.


Ambassador to the UN (2001–2004)

President George W. Bush appointed Negroponte to be U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
in February 2001, and after substantial opposition from Senate Democrats the nomination was ratified by the Senate on September 15, 2001, four days after the
September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
on the United States. According to CBS News:
At the United Nations, Negroponte, 64, was instrumental in winning unanimous approval of a Security Council resolution that demanded Saddam Hussein comply with U.N. mandates to disarm.
During
Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...
's speech to the
Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...
on Iraqi
weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natur ...
, Negroponte could be seen sitting behind Powell's left shoulder. Negroponte, however, had warned the Bush Administration about the adverse consequences of intervening in Iraq. In the ''New York Review of Books'', Stephen Kinzer reported that the messages sent by nominating Negroponte were that "the Bush administration will not be bound by diplomatic niceties as it conducts its foreign policy." A State Department official told him that "Giving him this job is a way of telling the UN: 'We hate you.'"


Ambassador to Iraq (2004–2005)

On April 19, 2004, Negroponte was nominated by
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
to be the United States Ambassador to Iraq after the June 30 transfer of sovereignty to the new Iraqi government. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...
on May 6, 2004, by a vote of 95 to 3, and was sworn in on June 23, 2004, replacing
L. Paul Bremer Lewis Paul Bremer III (born September 30, 1941) is an American diplomat. He led the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, from May 2003 until June 2004. Early life and education Born on ...
as the U.S.'s highest ranking American civilian in Iraq. He advised the Bush administration that security had to precede reconstruction in Iraq, organized a peaceful election, and gave advice, equally unwelcome to Secretary Rumsfeld and Democrats in Congress, that a five-year commitment would be required.


Director of National Intelligence (2005–2007)

On February 17, 2005, President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
named Negroponte as the first
Director of National Intelligence The director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior, cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Commu ...
, (DNI), a cabinet-level position charged with coordinating the nation's Intelligence Community. On April 21, 2005, Negroponte was confirmed by a vote of 98 to 2 in the Senate, and subsequently sworn into the office that was called "substantially stronger" than its predecessor position, the Director of Central Intelligence. Part of its power stemmed from the ability to "determine" budgets, prompting President Bush to remark, "That's why John Negroponte is going to have a lot of influence. He will set the budgets." The budget of the Intelligence Community is estimated at $40 billion. A memorandum in the Federal Register signed May 5, 2006. by President Bush states that Negroponte, as intelligence czar, be delegated the authority to exempt companies from accurate accounting standards, a power previously reserved for the chief executive under the 1934 Securities Exchange Act. Reaction in the intelligence community to Negroponte's nomination was, according to ''Newsweek'', "overwhelmingly positive" because he had "earned the respect of many intel professionals since those early days of the Reagan counterinsurgency." ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fo ...
'' noted, "if anyone can bring a semblance of unity to America's bewildering network of competing spy agencies, it is John Negroponte." Congressional reaction was also positive. Sen.
Jay Rockefeller John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) is a retired American politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia (1985–2015). He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as governor of West Virgi ...
(D-WV), then-vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said, "I think that Ambassador Negroponte is a very sound choice. Ambassador Negroponte has served bravely and with distinction in Iraq and at the United Nations during a time of turmoil and uncertainty. He brings a record of proven leadership and strong management." Rep.
Jane Harman Jane Margaret Lakes Harman (born June 28, 1945) is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 to 1999, and from 2001 to 2011; she is a member of the Democratic Party. Harman was the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Commit ...
(D-CA), then-ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee noted, "John Negroponte is a smart choice for a very important job. He's a seasoned and skilled diplomat, who has served with distinction at the United Nations and in Iraq -- and he has the full confidence of the president." According to John MacGaffin, the CIA's former associate deputy director for
clandestine operation A clandestine operation is an intelligence or military operation carried out in such a way that the operation goes unnoticed by the general population or specific enemy forces. Until the 1970s, clandestine operations were primarily political in ...
s, "This is a guy who plays hardball. He's a man who understands the whole range of counterintelligence, intelligence and covert action. They're all parts of foreign policy and protecting ourselves." "We've known for the last 40 years that what's wrong ith intelligenceis that no one's in charge," one retired CIA official told ''Newsweek''. "For once we have a chance to do something with someone truly in charge. Negroponte's going to decide what the answer is." As DNI, Negroponte, "embarked on an impressive array of reform efforts," with "perhaps the most transformational work ... nvolvingthe effort to retool the creaky electronic infrastructure of the intelligence community." According to '' U.S. News & World Report'', one of Negroponte's first tests was on an overbudget satellite system. The $25 billion system, called the "Future Imagery Architecture," was created as the "foundation for the next generation of America's space-based surveillance efforts." The reality was quite different, as it became, "a managerial nightmare – five years behind schedule and billions over budget. Poor quality control and technical problems raised questions about whether the system would ever work properly." Negroponte "moved decisively" and jettisoned half the classified project. Negroponte also appointed "mission managers" – intelligence professionals focused on America's hardest targets and most looming threats. The mission managers are focused on
counterterrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
,
counterproliferation Counterproliferation refers to diplomatic, intelligence, and military efforts to combat the proliferation of weapons, including both weapons of mass destruction (WMD), long-range missiles, and certain conventional weapons. Nonproliferation and ...
,
counterintelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...
,
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
, and Cuba and
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in t ...
. According to
John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaug ...
, former Deputy
Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security C ...
(DDCI), the mission manager concept, "holds much promise for integrating analysis, collection and other intelligence activities." It has also proven beneficial during potential crises. According to a senior intelligence official quoted in ''U.S. News & World Report'', "In the days after North Korea's recent nuclear test, the DNI put mission manager and CIA veteran Joseph DeTrani at the center of the developing crisis. Along with issuing a twice-daily intelligence summary, DeTrani served as a 'traffic cop,' coordinating analysis, briefing the White House, and tasking spies on what to target." In a November 2006 cover story in ''U.S. News & World Report'', it was noted that Negroponte and his office, "have made a promising start – and, remarkably, encountered an apparent willingness to embark on the necessary reforms." Progress made included the White House approval of more than 30 DNI recommendations on improving the flow of intelligence and terrorism data to state and local authorities; requiring intelligence agencies to accept each other's clearance; "open ngup the analytic process to new ideas and new people" to prevent groupthink – and the creation of an analytic ombudsman; the establishment of an Open Source center, "designed to broaden the flow of ideas to analysts"; and more "red teams" to challenge conventional thinking. Furthermore, the
President's Daily Brief The President's Daily Brief (PDB), sometimes referred to as the President's Daily Briefing or the President's Daily Bulletin, is a top-secret document produced and given each morning to the president of the United States; it is also distributed ...
, the highly classified report given to the President each morning by Negroponte, once prepared solely by the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
, is now compiled from intelligence agencies across the government. "I believe what I can bring to the community is a sense of what our most important customer is interested in," Negroponte told US News about briefing the president. In spite of his progress leading the Intelligence Community, though, there were rumors that Negroponte wanted to move back to the field in which he spent 37 years – the
State Department 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 nat ...
and Foreign Service. The rumors became official on January 5, 2007, when Negroponte announced his resignation as DNI and move to the State Department to serve as
Deputy Secretary of State The deputy secretary of state of the United States is the principal deputy to the secretary of state. The current deputy secretary of state is Wendy Ruth Sherman, serving since April 2021 under secretary of state Antony Blinken. If the secretar ...
. Former DDCI
John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaug ...
wrote after the resignation was announced, "Negroponte must be credited with bringing a reassuring and confident demeanor to a community that had been rocked by controversy." According to ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'', "Under Negroponte, the intel czar's office was praised by both congressional and executive-branch officials for greatly improving—via its National Counterterrorism Center—the sharing among relevant agencies of intelligence reports about terror threats."


U.S. Deputy Secretary of State (2007–2009)

Negroponte was sworn in as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State by President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
on February 27, 2007. He served in that position until the end of the Bush administration on January 20, 2009.


Later career

Ambassador Negroponte joined McLarty Associates, an international strategic advisory firm headquartered in Washington, D.C., in 2009. He serves on the Leadership Council of Concordia, a nonpartisan, nonprofit based in New York City focused on promoting effective public–private collaboration to create a more prosperous and sustainable future. Negroponte was one of 50 signatories of a statement concerning 2016 Republican presidential candidate
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
in which Trump was called "reckless" and stated that he would "put at risk our country's national security and well-being."


Personal life

Negroponte speaks five languages (
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
, French,
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, and Vietnamese). He is the elder brother of
Nicholas Negroponte Nicholas Negroponte (born December 1, 1943) is a Greek American architect. He is the founder and chairman Emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, and also founded the One Laptop per Child Association (OLPC). Negroponte ...
, founder of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
's Media Lab and of the One Laptop per Child project. His brother Michel is an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning
filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
, and his other brother, George Negroponte, is an
artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, the ...
and was President of the Drawing Center from 2002 to 2007. Negroponte and his wife, Diana Mary Villiers (b. August 14, 1947), have five adopted children, Marina, Alexandra, John, George and Sophia, all of whom were adopted from
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
. On February 16, 2020 it was reported that daughter Sophia was arrested on the charge of first-degree murder for the stabbing death of a man. The Negropontes were married on December 14, 1971.


Recognition

*
National Security Medal The National Security Medal is a decoration of the United States of America officially established by President Harry S. Truman in Executive Order 10431 of January 19, 1953. The medal was originally awarded to any person, without regard to natio ...
* State Department Secretary's Distinguished Service Award with gold service star (in lieu of second award) * Lifetime Achievement Award, World Affairs Councils of America * Raymond “Jit” Trainor Award for Distinction in the Conduct of Diplomacy, Georgetown University, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (2005) * Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...
presented by Awards Council member President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga of Latvia (2006) * George F. Kennan Award for Distinguished Public Service,
National Committee on American Foreign Policy The National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) is an American nonprofit, nonpartisan activist organization dedicated to the resolution of conflicts that threaten United States interests. Founded in 1974 by Hans Morgenthau, the orga ...
(2011) * Distinguished Service Award for the Advancement of Public Discourse on Foreign Policy, American Committees on Foreign Relations (2014) * Walter and Leonore Annenberg Award for Excellence in Diplomacy, The American Academy of Diplomacy (2019) * Honorary Patron of the
University Philosophical Society The University Philosophical Society (UPS; ), commonly known as The Phil, is a student paper-reading and debating society in Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1683 it is the oldest student, collegial and paper-reading society in ...
,
Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...
.


See also

* Negroponte doctrine *'' The Ambassador'' (2005), Norwegian documentary film that examines the career of John Negroponte, focusing primarily on his time as U.S. Ambassador to Honduras in the early 1980s *
Battalion 316 Intelligence Battalion 3–16 or Battallón 316 (various names: ''Group of 14'' (1979–1981), ''Special Investigations Branch (DIES)'' (1982–1983), ''Intelligence Battalion 3–16'' (from 1982 or 1984 to 1986), ''Intelligence and Counter-Intell ...
, Honduran army unit responsible for carrying out political assassinations and torture of suspected political opponents of the government during the 1980s *
Iran–Contra affair The Iran–Contra affair ( fa, ماجرای ایران-کنترا, es, Caso Irán–Contra), often referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the McFarlane affair (in Iran), or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States ...
*
List of U.S. political appointments that crossed party lines United States presidents typically fill their Cabinets and other appointive positions with people from their own political party. The first Cabinet formed by the first president, George Washington, included some of Washington's political opponents ...


References


External links

*
C-SPAN ''Q&A'' interview with Negroponte, December 3, 2006
* * * * ;Profiles
Profile
at
SourceWatch The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org. History CMD was founded in 1993 by progres ...

''RightWeb'' profile of John Negroponte

Profile: John Negroponte
''Center for Cooperative Research''
The Negroponte File
''National Security Archive''
Office of the Director of National Intelligence


(May 18, 2005)

at the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
website
The Negroponte File: Additional Papers
National Security Archive, updated August 12, 2005


John Negroponte addresses The World Affairs Councils of America national conference
February 8, 2006 (video)
Ambassador Negroponte Video Address at Harvard, 12/1/2006, "Global Security Challenges Facing the Intelligence Community."

Membership
at the
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York City ...
* Negroponte on China
October 2007


Favorable commentary


''What NID Needs''
( Fred Kaplan for ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
,'' February 17, 2005)
''Smearing Negroponte''
(
Rich Lowry Richard Lowry (; born August 22, 1968) is an American writer who is the former editor and now editor-in-chief of ''National Review'', an American conservative news and opinion magazine. Lowry became editor of ''National Review'' in 1997 when selec ...
for ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...
,'' February 22, 2005)
"Bush's Cool Cold Warrior (Jan McGirk in the Independent) September 16, 2001


Criticism



(Paul Laverty for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the G ...
'', April 13, 2005)
''Negroponte's Time in Honduras at Issue''
(Michael Dobbs for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nat ...
'', March 21, 2005)
''John Negroponte's Human Rights Record Continues to Stir Debate''
(''May I Speak Freely Media'' - extensive list of links to critical commentary and news articles, etc., February 2005)

(Duncan Campbell of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the G ...
'' on Negroponte's past history, February 18, 2005)
''From Central America to Iraq''
(
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...
for ''Khaleej Times,'' August 6, 2004)
''Our man in Honduras''
(Stephen Kinzer for ''
The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...
,'' September 20, 2001)
1995 Four-Part Series on Honduras in the 80s
(''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'', June 11, 1995 – June 18, 1995)
''A carefully crafted deception''
(Ginger Thompson and Gary Cohn for ''The Baltimore Sun'', June 18, 1995)

(Jeff Stein for ''Congressional Quarterly'', March 3, 2006) , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Negroponte, John 1939 births Ambassadors of the United States to Honduras Ambassadors of the United States to Iraq Ambassadors of the United States to Mexico Ambassadors of the United States to the Philippines American people of Greek descent British emigrants to the United States British people of Greek descent Diplomats from London George W. Bush administration personnel Harvard Law School alumni Living people New York (state) Republicans Permanent Representatives of the United States to the United Nations Phillips Exeter Academy alumni George Washington University faculty Elliott School of International Affairs faculty United States Deputy Secretaries of State United States Directors of National Intelligence United States Foreign Service personnel Yale University alumni United States Deputy National Security Advisors Villiers family 20th-century American diplomats 21st-century American diplomats Psi Upsilon