Robert W. Jordan (born October 9, 1945) is an American lawyer and diplomat. He served as the
United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
The United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Saudi Arabia.
The United States recognized the government of King Ibn Saud in 1931, but it was not until 19 ...
from 2002 to 2003, under President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
.
Biography
Early life
Jordan received his
B.A.
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 degree ...
degree from
Duke University
Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
in 1967, his
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
from the
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...
in 1971 while serving in the U.S. Navy, and his
J.D. from the
University of Oklahoma College of Law
The University of Oklahoma College of Law is the law school of the University of Oklahoma. It is located on the University's campus in Norman, Oklahoma. The College of Law was founded in 1909 by a resolution of the OU Board of Regents.
Accordi ...
in 1974.
Career
Jordan was a partner in the
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
office of
Baker Botts
Baker Botts L.L.P. is an American law firm headquartered in Houston, Texas, at One Shell Plaza. It has approximately 725 lawyers and primarily handles matters involving technology and energy companies. It is the second-oldest law firm west of the ...
, the law firm of
James Baker
James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House chief of staff and 67th United States secretary ...
. In the early 1990s, he represented
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
in the investigation by the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
into possible
insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider informati ...
in Bush's sale of stock in
Harken Energy. Jordan was the president of the Dallas Bar Association in 1999.
In 2001, Bush, who had become
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
, appointed Jordan as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He held that post from June 2002 through October 2003. When Jordan resigned his ambassadorship, he returned to Baker Botts and is currently a senior partner of the firm. Jordan is currently partner-in-charge of the firm's Middle East offices and divides his time between Dubai and the United States.
Jordan is a member of the American Arbitration Association Commercial Panel of Arbitrators, the National Panel of Distinguished Neutrals of the CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, and The London Court of International Arbitration. A member of the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
, he serves as president of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations and as vice chairman of the board of directors of the
John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies at
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...
.
John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies Board of Directors
Jordan also serves on the executive committee of the board of directors of the Center for American and International Law and the advisory board of the center's Institute for Transnational Arbitration.
Jordan serves as Diplomat in Residence and adjunct professor of political science at Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...
, where he teaches a course on the Middle East. In 2007, he received the Fellows Award presented by the Dallas Bar Foundation.
References
Further reading
*Jordan, Robert W., and Steve Fiffer. ''Desert Diplomat: Inside Saudi Arabia Following 9/11''. Lincoln: Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, 2015.
External links
Biography on Baker Botts website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Robert W.
Duke University alumni
University of Oklahoma alumni
Ambassadors of the United States to Saudi Arabia
Living people
1945 births
People associated with Baker Botts
20th-century American lawyers
21st-century American lawyers