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Eric Edelman

Eric Edelman's headshot

Eric Edelman

  • Former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Administration of George W. Bush
  • Former Ambassador to Finland and Turkey, Administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush

Eric Edelman, a practitioner senior fellow at UVA's Miller Center, retired as a career minister from the US Foreign Service in 2009, after having served in senior positions at the Departments of State and Defense as well as the White House. As the undersecretary of defense for policy (2005–2009), he oversaw strategy development as the Defense Department’s senior policy official with global responsibility for bilateral defense relations, war plans, special operations forces, homeland defense, missile defense, nuclear weapons, and arms control policies, among other areas. Edelman served as US ambassador to the republics of Finland and Turkey during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations and was principal deputy assistant to Vice President Dick Cheney for national security affairs. Edelman has been awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, and several Department of State Superior Honor Awards. In January 2011, he was awarded the Legion d’Honneur by the French government. In 2016, he served as the James R. Schlesinger Distinguished Professor at the Miller Center. Edelman earned his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and his PhD from Yale University. 

Events

Toward a More Responsible and Effective Presidency (Day One)

William Antholis, Don Baer, Peter Baker, Laura Barrón-López, Bob Bauer, Joshua Bolten, Meena Bose, Valerie Smith Boyd, Robert Bruner, Stephen Burns , and more

Leading scholars, journalists, and key practitioners, drawn from both Republican and Democratic administrations, diagnose the problem with the American presidency on day one of this two-day discussion.

9:00am - 2:30pm
Online
Oct
19

Toward a More Responsible and Effective Presidency (Day Two)

William Antholis, Don Baer, Peter Baker, Laura Barrón-López, Bob Bauer, Joshua Bolten, Meena Bose, Valerie Smith Boyd, Robert Bruner, Stephen Burns , and more

Leading scholars, journalists, and key practitioners, drawn from both Republican and Democratic administrations, focus on how to fix problems with the American presidency on day two of this two-day discussion.

9:00am - 2:30pm
Online
Oct
20