Sandy Vershbow | |
|---|---|
 Vershbow in 2006 | |
| Deputy Secretary General of NATO | |
| In office February 2012 – October 17, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Claudio Bisogniero |
| Succeeded by | Rose Gottemoeller |
| Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs | |
| In office April 3, 2009 – February 2012 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Mary Beth Long |
| Succeeded by | Derek Chollet |
| United States Ambassador to South Korea | |
| In office October 17, 2005 – September 18, 2008 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Christopher R. Hill |
| Succeeded by | Kathleen Stephens |
| United States Ambassador to Russia | |
| In office October 17, 2001 – July 22, 2005 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | James Franklin Collins |
| Succeeded by | William J. Burns |
| 18thUnited States Ambassador to NATO | |
| In office November 10, 1997 – July 9, 2001 | |
| President | Bill Clinton George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Robert E. Hunter |
| Succeeded by | R. Nicholas Burns |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alexander Russell Vershbow (1952-07-03)July 3, 1952 (age 72) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Spouse | Lisa Vershbow |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Yale University (BA) Columbia University (MA) |
| Awards |  |
Alexander Russell "Sandy" Vershbow (born July 3, 1952) is an American diplomat and former Deputy Secretary General of theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization.
From October 2005 to October 2008, he was theUnited States Ambassador to South Korea. Before that post he had been theambassador to the Russian Federation from 2001 to 2005 and theambassador to NATO from 1997 to 2001.[1] For his work with NATO he was awarded theState Department's Distinguished Service Award.
In March 2009, PresidentBarack Obama nominated Vershbow asAssistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, a position that holds responsibility for U.S. policy towardNATO, coordination of U.S. security and defense policies relating to the nations and international organizations of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.[2] He was confirmed in April 2009.[3]
After almost three years with the U.S. Department of Defense, in February 2012, Vershbow moved back to Brussels where he took the position of Deputy Secretary General of NATO, becoming the first American to hold the position.[4]
Vershbow was born inBoston, Massachusetts, to Arthur Vershbow and Charlotte Vershbow (née Zimmerman), both of German descent.[5]
Vershbow attended theBuckingham Browne & Nichols School before moving on toYale College, from which he graduated in 1974 in Russian and East European Studies. He earned an MA atColumbia University in 1976 in International Relations and Certificate of the Russian Institute.[6] He learned to play the drums at a young age and kept up his passion abroad including occasionally playing in bands with other Ambassadors while on foreign assignments.[7]
Vershbow was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs at theNational Security Council (1994–97). He was the first recipient of the Department of Defense's Joseph J. Kruzel Award for his contributions to peace in theformer Yugoslavia (1997).
Vershbow was US ambassador to Russia from 2001 to 2005. He is famous for ignoring the official ceremony of giving hisletter of credence to Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, for which the reason of "a planned vacation" was given.[8] During his tenure the Embassy publicly supported the candidacy of Elena Mizulina whose political party advocated for the legalization of prostitution. The US Office of Trafficking in Persons and American NGO MiraMed Institute, which was the first nonprofit to work against trafficking of women and girls from Russia, brought pressure to have Ambassador Vershbow to withdraw his support since it was contrary to U.S. policy. In response, he requested an OIG investigation into the finances of MiraMed Institute which found no serious irregularities.
Early in his tenure as ambassador to South Korea he generated controversy by continuing the hard line onNorth Korea begun by his predecessorChristopher R. Hill. He pressed North Korea on the issues ofhuman rights andsuperdollars, calling the government a "criminal regime",[9][10] and called on them to return to theSix-Party Talks.[10][11] One South Korean lawmaker even tried to have him expelled from the country.[12] In January 2006 his attempt to meet with the Korea Internet Journalists' Association, which describes itself as 'progressive', was blocked by protestors from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.[13][14]
Together with Hill, who was theAssistant Secretary of State, Vershbow also pioneered a strategy of speaking directly to the Korean people through the internet and by actually appearing and speaking at street rallies.[15][16]
Vershbow spoke out in favor of the expansion of the U.S. base atPyeongtaek. Some local residents demonstrated against the expansion; Vershbow asserted that they were "out of step" with the sentiments of most residents of the area.[citation needed]
Vershbow was Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (ISA).[17] In a July 2010 organization chart he was shown as five ASD's serving underUnder Secretary of Defense for PolicyMichèle Flournoy, with the other four beingWallace Gregson,Paul Stockton,Michael Nacht, andMichael G. Vickers.[18]
Vershbow was leading sessions for the chief of staff of Egypt's armed forces, Lt. Gen.Sami Hafez Enan, and a delegation in Washington in January 2011, when the visit was truncated due toconcurrent Egyptian protests.[19]
Vershbow was the Deputy Secretary General of NATO from February 2012 to October 2016 after serving for three years in the Pentagon as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. While in Brussels, Vershbow argued that partnerships are "a necessity, not a luxury" stressing that NATO's partnerships have helped to consolidate peace and stability in Europe, and to extend stability beyond the Alliance's borders.[20] In remarks to a small groups of reporters on May 2, 2014, reported by AP, Vershbow said that after two decades of trying to build a partnership with Russia, NATO now feels compelled to start treating Moscow as an adversary. "Clearly the Russians have declared NATO as an adversary, so we have to begin to view Russia no longer as a partner but as more of an adversary than a partner," he said, adding that Russia's annexation of Crimea and its apparent manipulation of unrest in eastern Ukraine have fundamentally changed the NATO-Russia relationship.[21] Near the end of his tenure Vershbow was awarded the 'Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown' in recognition of his years of distinguished service for the Alliance.[22]
Following his career in public service, Vershbow joined theAtlantic Council as Distinguished Fellow, Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security. He has become a frequent media commentator on national security affairs and predicted the Russian government would not respond militarily tothe Trump administration's bombing of Syria in response to the Asad regime's use of chemical weapons in 2017.[23]
Vershbow also acts as a senior advisor toAnders Fogh Rasmussen's political consultancy firmRasmussen Global[24] where he offers advice on transatlantic relations and foreign policy.
Vershbow's wife, Lisa Vershbow, is a designer of contemporary jewelry.[6] They have two sons together.[25]
Poland : Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2016)[26]
Georgia:Order of the Golden Fleece (2016)[27]
Belgium: Knight Grand Cross in theOrder of the Crown, 2016.[28][29]U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow was stopped by KCTU protestors from attending a meeting with the Korean Internet Journalists' Association, reports the Korea Herald: 'The U.S. envoy to Korea was to meet with members of the Korea Internet Journalists' Association at the office of progressive radio channel, Voice of the People in Yeongdeungpo, western Seoul. But members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions who share an office in the same building barricaded the entrance and held out placards saying "U.S. obstructs reunification."'
Alexander Vershbow is currently the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (ISA). In this capacity, Ambassador Vershbow was responsible for coordinating U.S. security and defense policies relating to the nations and international organizations of Europe (including NATO), the Middle East and Africa.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to NATO 1997–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Russia 2001–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to South Korea 2005–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs 2009–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Korea |  | |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | ||
 Russian Empire(1780–1917) | |
|---|---|
 Soviet Union(1933–1991) | |
| Russian Federation (1991–present) | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
