Jeffrey Allen Bader (July 1, 1945 – October 22, 2023) was an American diplomat who was senior director for East Asian affairs on 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 ...

in the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

, with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' calling him "one of the country's leading experts on China". He also served as the

United States ambassador to Namibia The United States ambassador to Namibia is the representative of the government of the United States in Namibia. The position was created the day Namibia became independent, March 21, 1990, which was also the day that Namibia-United States rela ...

from 1999 to 2001.

Early life and education

Bader was born to a Jewish family in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York City, in 1945. He held a BA from

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, ...

(1967) and a MA (1968) and PhD (1975) in European history from

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 ...

. He spoke Chinese and French.

Career

Bader first assignment with the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carr ...

was in

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

. However, in 1977, he was chosen by

Richard Holbrooke Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke (April 24, 1941 – December 13, 2010) was an American diplomat and author. He was the only person to have held the position of Assistant Secretary of State for two different regions of the world (Asia from 1977 ...

to join a team of up-and-coming diplomats tasked with building U.S. relations with the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. He spent several years in Beijing, and his subsequent work focused on China and East Asia more broadly, except when he served as Ambassador to Namibia during the last two years of

presidency of Bill Clinton Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...

. Bader retired from foreign service in 2002 and later joined the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

, where he was senior fellow and inaugural director of the John L. Thornton China Center. From 2009 to 2011, he was senior director for East Asian affairs on the

during the

Obama Administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

. The following year, he published a memoir entitled ''Obama and China's Rise: An Insider's Account of America's Asia Strategy''.

Personal life and death

In 1985, Bader married documentary filmmaker Rohini Talalla whom he met in New York City. Talalla is an immigrant from

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, Malaysia and is of mixed Sri Lankan, Welsh, Burmese and Chinese ancestry. At the time of his death, the couple lived in

Venice, Los Angeles Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...

. Bader died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

at a hospice facility in Los Angeles on October 22, 2023, at the age of 78.

References

External links

*
Sino-American Relations and US Policy Options
a statement by Jeffrey A. Bader before the House International Relations committee
U.S.-China relations: Is it time to end the engagement?
a policy brief by Bader for the Brookings Institution. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bader, Jeffrey A. 1945 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American diplomats 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American diplomats 21st-century American memoirists Ambassadors of the United States to Namibia Brookings Institution people Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Deaths from pancreatic cancer in California Diplomats from New York City People from Venice, Los Angeles United States Foreign Service personnel Yale College alumni