Richard Nathan Haass (born July 28, 1951) is an American diplomat. He has been president of the
Council on Foreign Relations since July 2003, prior to which he was
Director of Policy Planning
The Director of Policy Planning is the United States Department of State official in charge of the department's internal think tank, the Policy Planning Staff. In the department, the Director of Policy Planning has a rank equivalent to Assistant ...
for the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
and a close advisor to Secretary of State
Colin Powell in the
George W. Bush administration
George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic ...
.
The
Senate approved Haass as a candidate for the position of ambassador and he has been U.S. Coordinator for the Future of Afghanistan. He succeeded
George J. Mitchell as the
United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland
The United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland (officially the Special Envoy of the President and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland) is the top United States Foreign Service, U.S. diplomat supporting the Northern Ireland peace ...
to help the peace process in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, for which he received the
State Department's Distinguished Service Award.
At the end of 2003,
Mitchell Reiss succeeded him as special envoy. In late 2013, Haass returned to Northern Ireland to chair inter-party talks aimed at addressing some of the unresolved issues from the
peace process
A peace process is the set of sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict.
Definitions
Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of an intra-state or in ...
such as
parades
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of ...
,
flags
A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic desi ...
and "the past", (now known as "the
Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
").
Early life and education
Haass was born to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, the son of Marcella (née Rosenthal) and Irving B. Haass.
Haass graduated from
Roslyn High School in 1969. His father was a securities analyst and partner at investment manager ''David J. Greene & Co.''
He completed a bachelor's degree at
Oberlin College in 1973, and was a
Rhodes scholar at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
, where he completed a master's degree and doctoral degree in 1978.
Career
Haass served at the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
from 1979 to 1980, and at the
Department of State from 1981 to 1985. From 1989 to 1993, he was Special Assistant to
United States 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 Stat ...
George H. W. Bush and
National Security Council Senior Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs. In 1991, Haass received the
Presidential Citizens Medal for helping to develop and explain U.S. policy during
Operation Desert Shield
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
and
Operation Desert Storm
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
.
Richard Haass worked for Secretary of State Colin Powell in the Bush administration and was Director of Policy Planning for the US State Department from 2001 to 2003 during the lead-up to the Iraq war. Haass has said he was 60 percent against the Iraq war.
Haass's other postings include Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy Studies at the
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...
, the Sol M. Linowitz Visiting Professor of International Studies at
Hamilton College
Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...
, a senior associate at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Lecturer in Public Policy at
Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government
The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
, and a research associate at the
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England.
The 2017 Global Go To Think ...
.
Throughout the
2008 presidential campaign, Haass advised several members of both the
Republican Party and
Democratic Party on issues regarding foreign policy, but did not publicly endorse a candidate due to the Council on Foreign Relations' non-partisan stance.
In September 2013, Haass returned to
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, with Professor
Meghan O'Sullivan, to chair all party talks on flags, parades and the legacy of The Troubles, after violence flared over the removal of the
union flag
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
at
Belfast City Hall
Belfast City Hall ( ga, Halla na Cathrach Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: ''Bilfawst Citie Haw'') is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the comm ...
. The talks broke down on December 31, 2013.
Haass is a member of the
Inter-American Dialogue.
Foreign policy views
In a May 2015 interview with
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, Haass predicted a new era in world history, in part due to the muting of U.S. dominance by the more diffuse power wielded by states and non-state entities as a result of the proliferation
, and several policy failures, which may bring about an "era of disorder" in the absence of any clear
.
On October 4, 2017, Haass called for U.S. Secretary of State
as “America-first unilateralism in practice," indicating that Biden “did so in a Trumpian way, consulting minimally with others and leaving NATO allies to scramble.”
with his wife, Susan Mercandetti; they have two children.
Haass is the author or editor of thirteen books on American foreign policy and one book on management.
Books authored
* ''The World: A Brief Introduction''.
, 2020. .
* ''A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order''.
, 2017. .
* ''Foreign Policy Begins at Home: The Case for Putting America's House in Order''.
, 2014. .
, 2010. .
Co-authored with Martin Indyk.
, 2008. .
, 2006. .
, 1999. .
, 1999. .
* ''Economic Sanctions and American Diplomacy''.
, 1998. .
, 1997. .
, 1994. .
* ''Conflicts Unending: The United States and Regional Disputes''.
, 1990. .
Books edited
, 1999. .
. Ballinger Publishing Company, 1987. .
Books contributed
Haass has appeared as himself on dozens of TV shows and documentaries since 1996. He has served as consultant on
''.
Following the publication of ''A World in Disarray'' in 2017, the book was adapted into a feature-length documentary by
for release the same year on July 21. Through interviews with Haass and other policymakers academics associated with the Council, the film explores the themes and concepts laid out in the book: the disorder in today’s international landscape, how it arose, and how it plays out in Syria, Ukraine, the South China Sea, and North Korea. In addition to providing commentary throughout the film, Haass served as a consulting producer.