Robert E. Hunter was the former U.S. Ambassador to NATO under President Clinton (’93-’98), and represented the U.S. to the Western European Union. He was the principal architect of the “New NATO”, leading the North Atlantic Council in implementing decisions of the 1994 and 1997 NATO Summits. Ambassador Hunter led the Council in obtaining major air-strike decisions for Bosnia, securing approval for Implementation Force and Stabilization Force. He served on Secretary Cohen’s Defense Policy Board and was Vice Chairman of the Atlantic Treaty Association (’98-’01).

During his extensive career in the public sector, he served as Special Advisor on Lebanon to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Lead Consultant to the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America (the Kissinger Commission. During the Carter Administration, Ambassador Hunter served on the National Security Council staff as Director of West European Affairs (’77- ’79), and later as Director of Middle East Affairs (’79- ’81). He was a member of the U.S. negotiating team for talks on the West Bank and Gaza, directed the 1978 NATO Summit, and was the principal author of the Carter Doctrine for the Persian Gulf. He also served as Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator Edward M. Kennedy (’73- ’77) and foreign and domestic policy advisor to Vice President Hubert Humphrey. He served on White House staff (health, education, welfare, labor) in the Johnson Administration (’64- ’65) and in the Navy Department on the Polaris Project. Has written, lectured, and broadcast extensively on foreign affairs and national security issues.

Ambassador Hunter was a Senior Fellow at the Overseas Development Council (’70- ’73), Research Associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London (’67- ’69), and Director of European Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Twice recipient of Department of Defense Medial for Distinguished Public Service, decorated by Hungarian, Lithuanian and Polish governments, and received Leadership Award of the European Institute.

Ambassador Hunter recently published a book called Building Security in the Persian Gulf that makes recommendations for a new security structure in the Persian Gulf region in order to promote long-term security and stability, while also reducing burdens on the United States.