R. David Edelman is an American policymaker and academic who currently directs the Project on Technology, the Economy, and National Security (TENS) at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

.Fung, Brian (2017-03-08).
'This is an all hands on deck thing': A former Obama technology adviser on robots, jobs and cyberwarfare
. Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-03-14. Previously, he served as Special Assistant to

President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

on issues of the digital economy and national security.Whitehouse.gov Archive
"R. David Edelman"
/ref> In that role, he led policy development around technology and related issues for the National Economic Council. He also served in the Office of Science & Technology Policy, and as the first Director for International Cyber Policy 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 ...

.Fisher, Daniel; Canal, Emily & Roy, Avik (2015-01-05).
White House Officials, Legal Entrepreneurs Dominate 30 Under 30 Law And Policy List
. Forbes. Retrieved 2016-11-11.Techonomy
"R. David Edelman"
/ref>

Early life and education

R. David Edelman was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, later moving with his family to California, where he attended the

Branson School The Branson School (also known as Branson, Branson School, or KBS) is a co-educational University-preparatory school, college-preparatory high school for students in grades 9–12. The school has 320 students, and is located in Ross, California, ...

. His parents, Steve and Sharon Edelman, are television hosts and producers. Edelman received a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. While there, he served on the Yale College Council and founded its Yale-in-Washington program. He went on to earn his M.Phil and D.Phil in International Relations from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

as a Clarendon Scholar. His dissertation, entitled “Cyberattacks in International Relations,” examined which forces might restrain state use of computer network attacks.

Career

State Department

After leaving Oxford, Edelman returned to the U.S. to accept a role in the

State Department 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 nat ...

as a Foreign Affairs Analyst for

Northeast Asia Northeast Asia or Northeastern Asia is a geographical subregion of Asia; its northeastern landmass and islands are bounded by the Pacific Ocean. The term Northeast Asia was popularized during the 1930s by American historian and political scient ...

. He later moved to the State Department’s Office of Cyber Affairs,Techonomy
Case, Cerf & Edelman: Keeping America Innovative
Retrieved 2016-12-06. where his focus shifted to American diplomacy around internet issues, and the international legal aspects of cyberspace. In that role, he became the United States’ primary negotiator at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

for internet matters.

White House

In December, 2010 Edelman joined President Obama’s

staff as the first Director for International Cyber Policy, where he was called “chief cyber diplomat” for his work in the space. At that time, he was the youngest-ever Director appointed to the NSC. On the NSC, Edelman was the primary author of the United States International Strategy for Cyberspace, and oversaw the 2013 addition of cybersecurity issues to the topics discussed on the Moscow-Washington hotline – colloquially, the “red phone”.Aspen Institute
"R. David Edelman"
Retrieved 2016-12-06. He also coordinated the addition of cyber issues to the US-India dialogue in 2011, following nearly a decade of silence on the subject between those nations. In 2012 Edelman became Senior Advisor for Internet, Innovation, and Privacy at the White House’s Office of Science & Technology Policy. There, he pursued several initiatives, including the creation of President Obama’s ConnectED program to provide K-12 classrooms with $10 billion in technology upgrades through public-private partnership. He also led the White House task force on High-Tech Patent Issues; the Administration’s effort to lift restrictions on cellphone unlocking; and the 2013 White House report, “Big Data: Seizing Opportunities, Preserving Values”. In 2014 he was promoted to Special Assistant to the President for Economic & Technology Policy. In that role he managed the

United States National Economic Council United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

team responsible for a range of issues including innovation and technology trade, competition and antitrust, broadband/telecom, consumer cybersecurity, data privacy, and intellectual property. He was most recently involved in the Administration’s policies on autonomous/connected vehicles; the EU-US Privacy Shield trade agreement; and 5G spectrum policy.

Post-Obama administration

In February 2017, Edelman was appointed to the Board of Trustees of both the

Newseum The Newseum was an American museum dedicated to news and journalism that promoted free expression and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, while tracing the evolution of communication. The purpose of the museum, funded by the ...

and the Newseum Institute. In March 2017, he joined the

's Internet Policy Research Initiative to direct its Project on Technology, the Economy, and National Security (TENS).R. David Edelman Joins MIT’s Internet Policy Research Initiative
MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative. Retrieved 2017-03-14.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edelman, R. David Living people Yale College alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Office of Science and Technology Policy officials Obama administration personnel People from Minneapolis Year of birth missing (living people)