James Franklin Collins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Ambassador toRussia | |
| In office January 26, 1998 – July 10, 2001 | |
| President | Bill Clinton George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Thomas R. Pickering |
| Succeeded by | Alexander R. Vershbow |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1939-06-04)June 4, 1939 (age 86) Aurora, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Harvard College Indiana University Bloomington |
James Franklin Collins (born June 4, 1939)[1] is a formerUnited States Ambassador to Russia. A careerForeign Service Officer in theState Department, he is a Russian specialist.[2]
Collins graduated fromHarvard Collegecum laude in 1961 and earned amaster's degree inhistory and Certificate from the Russian and East European Institute fromIndiana University Bloomington in 1964.[1] He studied atMoscow State University and conducted archival research during 1965–66 as an exchange student in the history faculty and conducted research at theBritish Museum in 1966 as an Indiana University fellow.He became a professor at theUnited States Naval Academy in 1967, where he taughtRussian andEuropean history, American government and economics.
After joining theForeign Service in 1969, he served at theconsulate general inİzmir, Turkey, 1969 to 1971. He was appointed as second secretary at the American embassyMoscow 1973–75, and political counselor at the American embassy inAmman, Jordan 1982 to 1984.[2]
At the State Department in Washington he held positions of deputy executive secretary for Europe and Latin America; director of the Department of State's Operations Center; and policy positions in the Bureaus of European and Canadian Affairs, Near East and South Asian Affairs, and Intelligence and Research. In the years 1987 to 1988, he served as a staff member of theNational Security Council as director for Intelligence Policy.[3]
He was assigned to Moscow asdeputy chief of mission in 1990[2] and served in that capacity with three ambassadors, Jack F. Matlock, Robert S. Strauss[1] and Thomas R. Pickering. When Matlock retired in the summer of 1991, Collins becamechargé d'affaires[4] and was acting ambassador during the1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt that led to the breakup of the Soviet Union. He similarly was Chargé d'affaires when President Gorbachev signed the decree formally ending the existence of the USSR. Following his return to Washington in 1993, he then served as senior coordinator and ambassador at large and special advisor to the secretary of state for the New Independent States, before being named ambassador to Russia by PresidentBill Clinton in 1997.[5]
As ambassador from 1997 to 2001, Collins's tenure played a role in critical moments in the development of Russian relations with the United States. In addition to severalsummits between President Clinton and PresidentBoris Yeltsin, and the transition of power from President Yeltsin toVladimir Putin on New Year's Day 2000.,[6] his tenure as ambassador was marked by the economic collapse following Russia's default in 1998 and the Kosovo crisis of 1998–1999.
After a career in the Foreign Service, he has been active in the non-profit world and has served as a senior advisor at the law firmAkin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.[4]
In January 2007 he was appointed the director of the Russian and Eurasian Program at theCarnegie Endowment for International Peace.[4][7]
He is married to Dr. Naomi F. Collins and they have two sons, Robert and Jonathan.[7]
He has served as a board member or advisor to the[2]
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Russia 1997-2001 | Succeeded by |
 Russian Empire(1780–1917) | |
|---|---|
 Soviet Union(1933–1991) | |
| Russian Federation (1991–present) | |
