Eric S. Edelman

Eric Edelman
8th Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
In office
August 9, 2005 – January 20, 2009
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byDouglas Feith
Succeeded byMichele Flournoy
United States Ambassador to Turkey
In office
August 29, 2003 – June 19, 2005
Appointed byGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byW. Robert Pearson
Succeeded byRoss Wilson
United States Ambassador to Finland
In office
August 27, 1998 – January 29, 2001
Appointed byBill Clinton
Preceded byDerek Shearer
Succeeded byBonnie McElveen-Hunter
Personal details
Born
Eric Steven Edelman

(1951-10-27) October 27, 1951 (age 73)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpousePatricia Edelman
EducationCornell University (BA)
Yale University (MA, MPhil, PhD)
AwardsDepartment of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service
Legion of Honour
WebsiteDefense website at the Wayback Machine (archived March 6, 2008)

Eric Steven Edelman (born October 27, 1951)[1] is an American diplomat who served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2005–2009), U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (2003–2005), U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland (1998–2001), and Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (2001–2003). A career Foreign Service Officer, Edelman entered the Senior Foreign Service in 1992. He is a recipient of the Secretary of Defense's award for Distinguished Civilian Service (1993) and the State Department's Superior Honor Award (1990 and 1996).

He retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in May 2009 and is a visiting scholar at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies and Roger Hertog Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and Distinguished Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.[2] He was also an advisor for the 2012 Mitt Romney presidential campaign.

Edelman currently serves as co-chair for the Bipartisan Policy Center's Turkey Initiative and as co-chair of the congressionally mandated Commission on National Defense Strategy.[3][4] He is also, with Eliot Cohen, the cohost of the Shield of the Republic podcast, published by The Bulwark.[5] Edelman is a member of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee.[6]

  1. ^ "Biographical and Financial Information Requested of Nominees". Nominations Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, First Session, 109th Congress (PDF). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 2006. pp. 438–440. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Strategic Studies Faculty". SAIS, Johns Hopkins University. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  3. ^ "Eric S. Edelman".
  4. ^ "National Defense Strategy Commission Releases Its Review of 2018 National Defense Strategy". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  5. ^ Bulwark, The. "Shield of the Republic". Shield of the Republic. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Defense Policy Board". policy.defense.gov. Retrieved 25 September 2024.