Raymond Burghardt (born 1945) is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Vietnam from 2002 to 2004, Director (1999-2001) as well as Chairman of

American Institute in Taiwan The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT; ) is the ''de facto'' embassy of the United States of America in Taiwan. AIT is a wholly owned subsidiary of the federal government of the United States in Taiwan with Congressional oversight. The AIT was ...

from 2006 to 2016.

Biography

Burghardt was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1945 and was raised in the New York metropolitan area. He graduated from Columbia College in 1967. In 1985, Burghardt was nominated by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

to serve as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, replacing Constantine Menges as Senior Director of Latin American 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 ...

staff. Prior to his posting to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, Burghardt was Consul General in Shanghai from 1997 to 1999 and served as the U.S. Government's chief interlocutor with the late

Wang Daohan Wang Daohan ( zh, c=汪道涵, p=Wāng Dàohán; 27 March 1915 – 24 December 2005) was a Chinese politician who was president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) from 1991 to 2005. Biography Wang was born in Ji ...

, 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 ...

’s lead negotiator with

. He was appointed on November 28, 2001 to be the second United States Ambassador to Vietnam, replacing

Pete Peterson Douglas Brian "Pete" Peterson (born June 26, 1935) is an American politician and diplomat. He served as a United States Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War and spent over six years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese army after his plane was ...

. From February 2006 to October 2016, he served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the

. He concurrently served as Director of East-West Seminars at the

East-West Center East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

from 2006 to 2012. He is one of the few diplomats who was a serving Foreign Service Officer when the United States derecognized the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in 1979 and remains a skeptic of the validity of the

1992 Consensus The 1992 Consensus is a political term referring to the alleged outcome of a meeting in 1992 between the semi-official representatives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-led People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China and the Kuomintang ...

. As outgoing

AIT An ait (, like ''eight'') or eyot () is a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England. Aits are typically formed by the deposit of sediment in the water, which accumu ...

chairman, he also called for "creativity" and "flexibility" in dealing with the political impasse in cross-strait relations. Burghardt is able to speak

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. Burghardt was awarded the Order of Propitious Clouds in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burghardt, Raymond Ambassadors of the United States to Vietnam 1945 births Living people Columbia College (New York) alumni Directors of the American Institute in Taiwan Chairs of the American Institute in Taiwan United States National Security Council staffers