Paula Dobriansky, Senior Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project and former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs discusses the development of a U.S. line on climate change negotiations across the years, with a particular emphasis on recent climate deals and the American approach to discussions in Paris.
Dr. Paula J. Dobriansky, a foreign policy expert and former diplomat specializing in national security affairs, is a Senior Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard University’s JFK Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. She was Senior Vice President and Global Head of Government and Regulatory Affairs at Thomson Reuters from 2010-2012. In this position, she was responsible for designing and implementing corporate strategy in Washington, DC and other key capitals around the globe. She also held the Distinguished National Security Chair at the U.S. Naval Academy.
From 2001 to 2009, Dr. Dobriansky served as Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs. Among her primary achievements, she established and led the US-India, US-China, and US-Brazil Global Issues Fora -- which advanced crucial work and international cooperation on environment, health, development and humanitarian issues. Additionally, she was head of delegation and lead negotiator on US climate change policy.
In February 2007, as the President's Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, Dr. Dobriansky contributed to the historic devolution of power in Belfast. For her leadership, she received the Secretary of State's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal. From 1997-2001, Dr. Dobriansky served as Senior Vice President and Director of the Washington Office of the Council on Foreign Relations. She was also the Council's first George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies.
During her more than 25 years in national security affairs, she has held many Senate-confirmed and senior level government appointments including Associate Director for Policy and Programs at the United States Information Agency, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, Deputy Head of the U.S. Delegation to the 1990 Copenhagen Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), Advisor to the U.S. Delegation to the 1985 U.N. Decade for Women Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, and Director of European and Soviet Affairs at the National Security Council, the White House. From 1997-2001, she served on the Presidentially-appointed U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.
