Marc Isaiah Grossman (born September 23, 1951) is an American former diplomat and government official. He served as

United States Ambassador to Turkey The United States has maintained many high level contacts with Turkey since the 19th century. Ottoman Empire Chargé d'Affaires * George W. Erving (before 1831) * David Porter (September 13, 1831 – May 23, 1840) Minister Resident * David Por ...

Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs The Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs is a position within the United States Department of State that leads the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs charged with implementing American foreign policy in Europe and Eu ...

, and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. He was most recently the United States Special Representative for

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and is currently a Vice Chairman of The Cohen Group, a business strategic advisory firm headed by former U.S. Secretary of Defense

William Cohen William Sebastian Cohen (born August 28, 1940) is an American lawyer, author, and politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as both a member of the United States House of Representatives (1973–1979) and Senate (19 ...

, and a Vice Chair of the

German Marshall Fund The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a nonpartisan American public policy think tank that seeks to promote cooperation and understanding between North America and the European Union. Founded in 1972 through a gift from the ...

board of trustees.

Early life and education

Grossman was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

on September 23, 1951. He attended the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

and graduated in 1973 with a B.A. in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

. He later received an M.Sc. in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such ...

from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

Diplomatic career

Early career

Grossman served at the

United States Embassy The United States has the second most diplomatic missions of any country in the world after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as observer state Vatican City and non-member countries Kosovo a ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

, Pakistan, from 1976 to 1983. He served as the Deputy Director of the Private Law Office of

Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton, (6 June 1919 – 9July 2018), was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secretary ...

Secretary General of NATO The secretary general of NATO is the chief civil servant of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The officeholder is an international diplomat responsible for coordinating the workings of the alliance, leading NATO's international staff ...

, from 1983 to 1986. Grossman served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

from 1989 to 1992. From 1993 to 1994, Grossman managed operations for senior

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 na ...

leadership as Executive Secretary of the State Department and Special Assistant to the Secretary of State.

Ambassador to Turkey

Grossman returned to Turkey after being appointed United States Ambassador to Turkey on September 29, 1994. He began his role on January 3, 1995 and left the post on June 1, 1997.

Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs

Grossman served as Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs from 1997 to 2000 and was responsible for over 4,000 State Department employees posted in 50 sites abroad with a program budget of $1.2 billion. He played a lead role in orchestrating NATO's

1999 Washington summit The 1999 Washington summit was the 16th NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit, a three-day meeting held in Washington, D.C. on April 23–25, 1999. Held at the height of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the summit commemorated th ...

, marking the group's 50th anniversary, and helped direct U.S. participation in NATO’s military campaign in

Hadean The Hadean ( ) is a geologic eon of Earth history preceding the Archean. On Earth, the Hadean began with the planet's formation about 4.54 billion years ago (although the start of the Hadean is defined as the age of the oldest solid materia ...

that same year. While he entered office as the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs, the title of the position was changed to Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs on January 12, 1999.

Director General of the Foreign Service

From 2000 to 2001, Grossman served as the Director General of 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 ...

and Director of Human Resources. At the direction of the Secretary of State, he revamped the State Department's human resource strategies, including the Department's strategies for training, assigning, and retaining personnel both at home and abroad.

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

Grossman was appointed Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the Department's third-ranking official, in March 2001. In 2004, Grossman attained the Foreign Service's highest rank when the President appointed him to the rank of

Career Ambassador Career ambassador is a personal rank of Foreign Service Officers within the United States Department of State Senior Foreign Service. The rank of career ambassador is awarded by nomination of the President and confirmation by the United States Sen ...

. He received the Secretary of State's

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 ...

the following year. Grossman served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs until his initial retirement in 2005.

Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan

Grossman was lured out of retirement by Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

to become the United States Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, an appointment he received following the death of the first Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan,

Richard Holbrooke Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke (April 24, 1941 – December 13, 2010) was an American diplomat and author. He was the only person to have held the position of Assistant Secretary of State for two different regions of the world (Asia from 1977 ...

. He began his role on February 22, 2011 and concluded his tenure on December 14, 2012.

Private sector career

In January 2005, Grossman resigned from his position and joined The Cohen Group, an advisory firm providing corporate leadership with strategic advice in government regulation and raising capital. Grossman serves as Vice Chairman of the Cohen Group. The Cohen Group has close ties to the Turkish military and represents some of the US’s largest weapons manufacturers, companies that stand to benefit from weapons sales:

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

and

Sikorsky Aircraft Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1923 and was among the first companies to manufacture helicopters for civilian and military use. Pre ...

among others, and their list of clients includes controversial companies such as

DynCorp International DynCorp (), formally DynCorp International, was an American private military contractor. Started as an aviation company, the company also provided flight operations support, training and mentoring, international development, intelligence training ...

, a major national security contractor with the US government, charging billions for overseas military and police training. Through their strategic partnership with

DLA Piper DLA Piper is a multinational law firm with offices in over 40 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In 2021, it had a total revenue of US$3.47 billion, an average profit per equity partner of U ...

, the Cohen group also serves foreign clients such as the Turkish government and business interest groups,

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

, India and Australia’s scandalous AWB. In late 2005, Grossman also joined Ihlas Holding, a Gülen-linked Turkish conglomerate which is also active in several Central Asian countries. Grossman is reported to receive $100,000 per month for his advisory position with Ihlas. Until 2015, he served as the inaugural Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Master of Science in Foreign Service Program at the

Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

, where he serves as a practitioner faculty member. He is a member of the advisory board for DC based non-profit America Abroad Media.

Personal life

Grossman married Mildred Anne Patterson in May 1982. The couple had their first date on November 3, 1979, one day prior to the

Iran hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over ...

. They have an adopted daughter, Anne, who was born in

Giresun Giresun (), formerly Cerasus (Ancient Greek: Κερασοῦς, Greek: Κερασούντα), is the provincial capital of Giresun Province in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon. Etymology Giresun ...

. Grossman speaks

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and Turkish in addition to

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 ...

References

External links

*
The Cohen Group profile

Grossman's statement on NATO & Kosovo
Grossman's Statement before the

Senate Armed Services Committee The Committee on Armed Services (sometimes abbreviated SASC for ''Senate Armed Services Committee'') is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Def ...

, October 28, 1999
U.S. Interests and Turkey: A briefing by Marc Grossman
March 13, 2000, address to the

Middle East Forum The Middle East Forum (MEF) is an American conservative think tank founded in 1990 by Daniel Pipes, who serves as its president. MEF became an independent non-profit organization in 1994. It publishes a journal, the ''Middle East Quarterly''. A ...

Photos of Marc Grossman's visit to NATO
February 27, 2003.
Op-ed: A Middle East Final Act?

, May 29, 2008.
Op-ed: Opening up trade with Colombia
''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Gl ...

'', July 10, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grossman, Marc 1951 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics Ambassadors of the United States to Turkey Directors General of the United States Foreign Service United States Career Ambassadors Under Secretaries of State for Political Affairs United States Special Envoys University of California, Santa Barbara alumni 20th-century American diplomats 21st-century American diplomats