Alexander Russell "Sandy" Vershbow (born July 3, 1952) is an American diplomat and former Deputy Secretary General of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...
.
From October 2005 to October 2008, he was the
United States Ambassador to South Korea. Before that post he had been the
ambassador to the Russian Federation from 2001 to 2005 and the
ambassador to NATO from 1997 to 2001. For his work with NATO he was awarded the
State Department's Distinguished Service Award.
In March 2009, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
nominated Vershbow as
, a position that holds responsibility for U.S. policy toward
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
, coordination of U.S. security and defense policies relating to the nations and international organizations of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He was confirmed in April 2009.
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.
Early life and education
Vershbow was born in
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, to Arthur Vershbow and Charlotte Vershbow (née Zimmerman), both of German descent.
Vershbow attended the
Buckingham Browne & Nichols School before moving on to
Yale College
Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
, from which he graduated in 1974 in Russian and East European Studies. He earned an MA at
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in 1976 in International Relations and Certificate of the Russian Institute.
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.
Career
National Security Council
Vershbow was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs at the
National Security Council
A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...
(1994–97). He was the first recipient of the Department of Defense's Joseph J. Kruzel Award for his contributions to peace in the
former Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...
(1997).
Ambassador to Russia
Vershbow was US ambassador to Russia from 2001 to 2005. He is famous for ignoring the official ceremony of giving his
letter of credence
A letter of credence (, ) is a formal Diplomatic correspondence, diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to an ...
to Russian President
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
, for which the reason of "a planned vacation" was given. 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.
Ambassador to South Korea
Early in his tenure as ambassador to South Korea he generated controversy by continuing the hard line on
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
begun by his predecessor
Christopher R. Hill. He pressed North Korea on the issues of
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
and
superdollars, calling the government a "criminal regime",
and called on them to return to the
Six-Party Talks
The six-party talks aimed to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.
There was a series of meetings with six participating states in Beijing:
* China
* Japan
* North Korea ...
.
[ One South Korean lawmaker even tried to have him expelled from the country. 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.
Together with Hill, who was the Assistant 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.
Vershbow spoke out in favor of the expansion of the U.S. base at ]Pyeongtaek
Pyeongtaek (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Located in the southwestern part of the province, Pyeongtaek was founded as a union of two districts in 1940. It was elevated to city status in 1986 and is home to a South Korean naval b ...
. Some local residents demonstrated against the expansion; Vershbow asserted that they were "out of step" with the sentiments of most residents of the area.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
Vershbow was Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (ISA). In a July 2010 organization chart he was shown as five ASD's serving under Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
The United States under secretary of defense for policy (USDP) is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Defense. The under secretary of defense for policy is the principal staff assistant and adviser to both the Unite ...
Michèle Flournoy
Michèle Angélique Flournoy (; born December 14, 1960) is an American defense policy advisor who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy under President Bill Clinton and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, under secretar ...
, with the other four being Wallace Gregson, Paul Stockton, Michael Nacht, and Michael G. Vickers.
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 to concurrent Egyptian protests.
NATO Deputy Secretary General
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. 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. 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.
Atlantic Council
Following his career in public service, Vershbow joined the Atlantic Council
The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...
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 to the Trump administration's bombing of Syria in response to the Asad regime's use of chemical weapons in 2017.
Rasmussen Global
Vershbow also acts as a senior advisor to Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Anders Fogh Rasmussen (; born 26 January 1953) is a Danish politician who was the prime minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the Secretary General of NATO, secretary general of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became ...
's political consultancy firm Rasmussen Global where he offers advice on transatlantic relations and foreign policy.
Personal life
Vershbow's wife, Lisa Vershbow, is a designer of contemporary jewelry. They have two sons together.
Honours
* : Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland () is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident abroad. As such, it is sometimes referred to as ...
(2016)
*: Order of the Golden Fleece
The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...
(2016)
*: Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Crown, 2016.
References
External links
Alexander "Sandy" Vershbow
at Atlantic Council
The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...
Vershbow's profile
at the U.S. Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...
About ambassador
(embassy biography page in Seoul, 2008)
Audio/Video recordings
of Alexander Vershbow discussing "The Current Security and Economic Situation on the Korean Peninsula," from the University of Chicago'
World Beyond the Headlines series
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vershbow, Alexander
1952 births
Ambassadors of the United States to Russia
Ambassadors of the United States to South Korea
20th-century American Jews
American Ashkenazi Jews
Buckingham Browne & Nichols School alumni
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)
Living people
Diplomats from Boston
Permanent representatives of the United States to NATO
Recipients of the Order of the Golden Fleece (Georgia)
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni
United States Assistant Secretaries of Defense
Yale College alumni
21st-century American Jews