American diplomat (born 1942)
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 at the University of Minnesota.
Biography.
In 1966, Atwood joined the United States Foreign Service and served as a foreign service officer until January 1972. He served in U.S. embassies in Abidjan Ivory Coast and Spain. From 1979 to 1981 as a presidential appointee, he was Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations during the Carter administration, and also served in the Foreign Service Institute 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. From 1993 to 1999 he served as Administrator of USAID, receiving the Secretary's Distinguished Service Award from the Department of State.
In 2001, Atwood served on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's Panel on Peace Operations. He writes frequently on international development, post-conflict reconstruction, foreign policy, the role of the United Nations 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 to serve as the chair of the Development Assistance Committee at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 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 as the Chair of Global Policy Studies and Professor of Public Policy at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota.
Atwood is the Chair of Population Services International, and he serves on the board of directors of the National Democratic Institute.
He received a bachelor's degree in government and history from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, and an honorary doctorate from American University based in Washington D.C. He is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and Council on Foreign Relations. Atwood speaks English, French, and Spanish.
Publications.
Atwood, J. Brian, Natsios, Andrew. The U.S. Has A Scattershot Approach To Global Poverty, Minneapolis Star Tribune Op-ed, September 19, 2008;