President Obama Intends to Nominate SAIS Scholar Esther Brimmer to Senior State Department Position
Washington, D.C.-03/9/2009 - President Barack Obama announced on 03/6 his intent to nominate Esther Brimmer, a scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), to serve as assistant secretary of State for International Organizations.
Brimmer is currently the deputy director and director of research at SAIS's Center for Transatlantic Relations and a professorial lecturer. At the U.S. State Department, Brimmer will oversee policy relating to U.S. relations with the United Nations and other multilateral issues. Her responsibilities will include leading a bureau with posts at U.N. organizations in seven cities-New York, Geneva, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Montreal and Nairobi.
Along with Brimmer, Obama also announced the appointments of Philip H. Gordon as assistant secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs and Melanne Verveer as ambassador-at-large for Global Women's Issues. Gordon is a SAIS graduate (M.A. 1987, Ph.D. 1991) and a former professorial lecturer in the school's European Studies Program.
According to the White House statement issued on 03/6, Obama said of the three nominees: "Each of these individuals brings a deep knowledge and expertise in their field, along with a commitment to strengthen American diplomacy to meet 21st century challenges. They will be joining a leadership team at the State Department which will be at the forefront of our effort to renew America's security and standing in an uncertain world."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: "In my testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I spoke about the use of smart power. At the heart of smart power are smart people, and these talented individuals are among the smartest I know. Along with the entire State Department team, I will count on and turn to these individuals for their expertise, experience, and creative vision to make good on the promises of this new administration."
Brimmer, who specializes in transatlantic political and security affairs, joined SAIS in 11/2001. From 1999-2001, she was a member of the State Department's Office of Policy Planning, working on the European Union, Western Europe, the U.N. and multilateral security issues. She also served on the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in spring 2000. From 1995-1999, Brimmer managed projects as a senior associate at the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. From 1993-1995, she was a special assistant to the undersecretary of State for Political Affairs. She earned her master's and doctorate degrees in international relations at the University of Oxford.
SAIS is one of the country's leading graduate schools devoted to the study of international relations. Located along Embassy Row in Washington's Dupont Circle area, the school enrolls more than 580 full-time graduate students and mid-career professionals and has trained more than 15,000 alumni in all aspects of international affairs. SAIS also has campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China.