Richard L. Morningstar (born 1945) is an American diplomat. He was former United States Ambassador to

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

from 2012 to 2014. He was formerly Special Envoy of the United States Secretary of State for Eurasian Energy. Currently, Ambassador Morningstar is the founding director and chairman of the Global Energy Center at 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 ...

. He also serves as a senior advisor at

Albright Stonebridge Group Albright Stonebridge Group, part of DGA Group, is a global business strategy firm based in Washington, D.C., United States. It was created in 2009 through the merger of international consulting firms The Albright Group, founded in 2001 by former ...

, a global business strategy firm.

Education

Richard Morningstar earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

, magna cum laude, from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...

in 1970.

Career

Morningstar started his career with the law firm of Peabody & Brown (now Nixon Peabody) in

Boston 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 ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, where he practiced law from 1970 to 1981. He then served as CEO of Costar Corporation, and since 1990 as the chairman of the board. Since June 1993, Morningstar served as senior vice president for Policy and Investment Development at the

Overseas Private Investment Corporation The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) was the United States Government's Development finance institution until it merged with the Development Credit Authority (DCA) of the United States Agency for International Development (U ...

. In April 1995, Morningstar was posted as the special advisor to the president and Secretary of State on Assistance to the New Independent States of the Former Soviet Union. His rank of ambassador was confirmed by the Senate on 11 June 1996. In July 1998, he was assigned as a special advisor to the president and the Secretary of State for Caspian Basin

Energy Diplomacy Energy diplomacy is a form of diplomacy, and a subfield of international relations. It is closely related to its principal, foreign policy, and to overall national security, specifically energy security. Energy diplomacy began in the first half of t ...

. In that capacity Morningstar was a promoter of the

Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline is a long crude oil pipeline from the Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli oil field in the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. It connects Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan and Ceyhan, a port on the south-easte ...

. In 1999–2001, Morningstar served as the

United States Ambassador to the European Union This is a list of United States ambassadors to the European Union. The formal title of this position is Representative of the United States of America to the European Union (prior to May 9, 1994: European Communities), with the rank and status o ...

. Beginning in 2001, Ambassador Morningstar served as a senior director at the global strategy firm Stonebridge International (no
Albright Stonebridge Group
On 20 April 2009, Ambassador Morningstar was named to the position of the Special Envoy of the United States Secretary of State for Eurasian Energy. In that capacity Morningstar represented the United States at the signing ceremony of the intergovernmental agreement of the Nabucco pipeline. He has strongly opposed the possible participation of Iran in the Nabucco project. Morningstar has been a visiting scholar and diplomat in residence at the Stanford University Institute for International Studies, a lecturer in law at Stanford Law School and an adjunct professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. On 27 April 2012, Morningstar was nominated for the US Ambassadorship in Azerbaijan. On 30 June 2012, the U.S. Senate confirmed this appointment. He gave a speech in defense of Free Thought University on April 11, 2013, a day after it was closed by the government of Azerbaijan. In 2014 Morningstar was named director of th
Atlantic Council’s
New Global Energy Center.

Personal life

Richard Morningstar is married to Faith Pierce Morningstar, a former board member of the democracy promotion and human rights group

Freedom House Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...

, with two sons and two daughters. He also has 12 grandchildren.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morningstar, Richard L. Living people 1945 births Harvard College alumni Stanford Law School alumni People associated with energy Ambassadors of the United States to the European Union Ambassadors of the United States to Azerbaijan United States special envoys 20th-century American diplomats 21st-century American diplomats