Foreign Relations council chief is UNH grad speaker

Richard Haass (Courtesy photo)

DURHAM, NH - Richard Haass, the U.S. envoy to the most recent Northern Ireland peace process and currently the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, will deliver the University of New Hampshire commencement address Saturday, May 21, 2016.

Haass is in his 13^th year as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, nonpartisan organization dedicated to helping people better understand the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. During his tenure he served as chair of the multi-party negotiations in Northern Ireland that provided the foundation for the 2014 Stormont House Agreement and as U.S. coordinator for policy on the future of Afghanistan. For his efforts to promote peace and conflict resolution, he received the 2013 Tipperary International Peace Award.

Prior to the Council on Foreign Relations, Haass was director of policy planning for the Department of State where he served as principal adviser to Secretary of State Colin Powell. From 1989-1993 he was special assistant to President George H.W. Bush and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. In 1991 he was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for his contributions to the development and articulation of U.S. policy during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

A Rhodes scholar, Haass earned his bachelor's from Oberlin College in Middle Eastern Studies as well as master and doctor of philosophy degrees in international relations from Oxford University.