Marik String is an American attorney, national security expert, and U.S. Navy officer, who served as Acting
Legal Adviser
Legal advice is the giving of a professional or formal opinion regarding the substance or procedure of the law in relation to a particular factual situation. The provision of legal advice will often involve analyzing a set of facts and advising a ...
of the
U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other natio ...
from 2019 to 2021.
Education
String earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
and
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...
from the
Georgetown University Law Center
The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment a ...
. During law school, he was the editor of ''
The Georgetown Law Journal
''The Georgetown Law Journal'' is a student-edited scholarly journal published at Georgetown University Law Center. It is the flagship law review of the Georgetown University Law Center.
Overview
The ''Georgetown Law Journal'' is headquartered ...
'' and a Global Law Scholar. String earned a Master of Arts degree from the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich h ...
as a
Fulbright Scholar
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...
and speaks fluent
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
.
Career
String is an officer in the
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...
. From 2006-2013, he served on the
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid ...
, where he acted as Deputy Chief Counsel and Senior Professional Staff Member for European and Eurasian Affairs covering issues related to
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
,
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, and the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
. He then worked as an attorney at
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, also known as Hale & Dorr and WilmerHale, is an international law firm with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. It is co-headquartered in Washington, D.C. and Boston. It was formed in 2004 thr ...
, where he specialized in economic sanctions and national security law. He was also an affiliated scholar at the
Atlantic Council of the United States
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 ...
and
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...
Berlin (Germany).
String later served in various leadership positions within the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
's
Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM) is an agency within the United States Department of State that bridges the Department of State with the Department of Defense. It provides policy in the areas of international security, security assi ...
, including as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs. String also served as a senior advisor to the
United States Deputy Secretary of State
The deputy secretary of state of the United States is the principal deputy to the secretary of state. The current deputy secretary of state is Wendy Ruth Sherman, serving since April 2021 under secretary of state Antony Blinken. If the secretary ...
,
John J. Sullivan.
String was selected to serve as acting
Legal Adviser of the Department of State
The legal adviser of the Department of State is a position within the United States Department of State. It was created by an Act of Congress on February 23, 1931 (P.L. 71-715; 46 Stat. 1214). The legal adviser replaced the solicitor, a United S ...
in 2019, succeeding
Jennifer Gillian Newstead
Jennifer Gillian Newstead is an American attorney who currently serves as the Chief Legal Officer at Meta, previously Facebook, overseeing all global legal and corporate governance matters on behalf of the company.
Career
Prior to working at ...
. As Acting Legal Adviser from 2019-2021, he served as the chief legal officer for the
U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other natio ...
and directed the Office of the Legal Adviser's 375 attorneys and staff.
He played a central role in the bilateral claims settlement agreement between the United States and Sudan, under which Sudan agreed to pay $335 in compensation to resolve terrorism-related claims brought by the U.S. families of victims of the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 attack on the
U.S.S. Cole. The claims agreement was part of a broader diplomatic initiative to restore Sudan's
sovereign immunity
Sovereign immunity, or crown immunity, is a legal doctrine whereby a sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution, strictly speaking in modern texts in its own courts. A similar, strong ...
under the Sudan Claims Resolution Act and establish diplomatic relations between Sudan and Israel under the U.S.-negotiated
Abraham Accords
The Abraham Accords are a series of joint normalization statements initially between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain, effective since September 15, 2020. Mediated by the United States, the initial announcement of August 13, 2020, ...
, the normalization agreements between
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and various Arab states.
He served as Agent of the United States before various international courts and tribunals, including the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
(ICJ) and
Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal (The Hague). He argued before the ICJ in ''Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America'' (''
Alleged Violations of the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights),'' in which Iran challenged the United States' re-imposition of sanctions following the U.S. withdrawal from the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; fa, برنامه جامع اقدام مشترک , barnāmeye jāme'e eqdāme moshtarak (, ''BARJAM'')), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear ...
(JCPOA). He also served as Agent of the United States in ''Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America (
Certain Iranian Assets
''Certain Iranian Assets (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America)'' is the formal name of a case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The application was lodged by Iran against the United States on 14 June 2016, on grounds ...
)'', in which Iran challenged the freezing of nearly $2 billion in assets held by the Iranian bank, Bank Markazi, in connection with compensation for U.S. victims of Iranian terrorism shortly after the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...
decided the case
Bank Markazi v. Peterson
''Bank Markazi v. Peterson'', 578 U.S. 212 (2016), was a Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court case that found that a law which only applied to a specific case, identified by Docket (court), docket number, and eliminate ...
. He serves as one of four U.S. members of the
Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that aris ...
(The Hague) and the U.S. National Group, the nominating body for ICJ judges. During his tenure, String also appeared on various briefs before the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...
, including in ''
Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp'', which examined the scope of the expropriation exception of the
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) is a United States law, codified at Title 28, §§ 1330, 1332, 1391(f), 1441(d), and 1602–1611 of the United States Code, that established criteria as to whether a foreign sovereign nation ...
(FSIA), ''
Nestle USA, Inc. v. Doe'', which examined the scope and application of the
Alien Tort Statute
The Alien Tort Statute ( codified in 1948 as ; ATS), also called the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), is a section in the United States Code that gives federal courts jurisdiction over lawsuits filed by foreign nationals for torts committed in viola ...
(ATS), ''Republic of Hungary v. Simon'', which examined the application of the doctrines of international comity and ''
forum non conveniens
''Forum non conveniens'' (Latin for "an inconvenient forum") (FNC) is a mostly common law legal doctrine through which a court acknowledges that another forum or court where the case might have been brought is a more appropriate venue for a lega ...
'' under the FSIA, and ''Mutond v. Lewis'', which involved the scope and determination of conduct-based immunity for foreign officials in civil litigation in the United States.
[Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae, Mutond v. Lewis (No. 19-185) (2020), ''available at'' https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/19/19-185/144241/20200526184535442_19-185%20Mutond%20CVSG_FINAL.pdf.] He left office in January 2021.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:String, Marik
Living people
University of Notre Dame alumni
Georgetown University Law Center alumni
University of Vienna alumni
United States Department of State officials
Trump administration personnel
American lawyers
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr people
Year of birth missing (living people)