Marc Grossman

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Marc Grossman
Marc Grossman US State Department portrait.jpg
US State Department portrait, c. 2011
2nd United States Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
In office
February 22, 2011 – December 14, 2012
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Richard Holbrooke
Succeeded by James Dobbins
18th Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
In office
March 26, 2001 – February 25, 2005
President George W. Bush
Preceded by Thomas R. Pickering
Succeeded by R. Nicholas Burns
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs
In office
August 5, 1997 – May 31, 2000
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by John C. Kornblum
Succeeded by A. Elizabeth Jones
United States Ambassador to Turkey
In office
January 3, 1995 – June 1, 1997
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by Richard Clark Barkley
Succeeded by Mark Robert Parris
Personal details
Born Mark Isaiah Grossman
(1951-09-23) September 23, 1951 (age 72)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Nationality American
Spouse(s) Mildred Anne Patterson (m. 1982)
Children 1
Education University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A. 1973)
London School of Economics (M.Sc. 1974)

Marc Isaiah Grossman (born September 23, 1951) is an American former diplomat and government official. He served as United States Ambassador to Turkey, Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. He was most recently the United States Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and is currently a Vice Chairman of The Cohen Group, a business consulting and lobbyist firm of former Defense Secretary William Cohen, and a member of the German Marshall Fund board of trustees.[1][2][3][4]

Early life and education

Grossman was born in Los Angeles, California on September 23, 1951.[5] He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated in 1973 with a B.A. in political science.[1][5] He later received an M.Sc. in international relations from the London School of Economics.[1][5]

Diplomatic career

Early career

Grossman served at the United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, from 1976 to 1983.[citation needed] He served as the Deputy Director of the Private Law Office of Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Secretary General of NATO, from 1983 to 1986.[citation needed] Grossman served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in Ankara, Turkey from 1989 to 1992.[citation needed] From 1993 to 1994, Grossman managed operations for senior State Department leadership as Executive Secretary of the State Department and Special Assistant to the Secretary of State.[citation needed]

Ambassador to Turkey

Grossman returned to Turkey after being appointed United States Ambassador to Turkey on September 29, 1994. He began his role on January 3, 1995 and left the post on June 1, 1997. In Turkey, he promoted security cooperation, human rights and democracy, and a vibrant U.S.-Turkish economic relationship.[citation needed]

Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs

Grossman served as Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs from 1997 to 2000 and was responsible for over 4,000 State Department employees posted in 50 sites abroad with a program budget of $1.2 billion.[citation needed] He played a lead role in orchestrating NATO's 1999 Washington summit, marking the group's 50th anniversary, and helped direct U.S. participation in NATO’s military campaign in Kosovo that same year.[citation needed] While he entered office as the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs, the title of the position was changed to Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs on January 12, 1999.

Director General of the Foreign Service

From 2000 to 2001, Grossman served as the Director General of the United States Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources. At the direction of the Secretary of State, he revamped the State Department's human resource strategies, including the Department's strategies for training, assigning, and retaining personnel both at home and abroad.

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

Grossman was appointed Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the Department's third-ranking official, in 2001. In 2004, Grossman attained the Foreign Service's highest rank when the President appointed him to the rank of Career Ambassador. He received the Secretary of State's Secretary's Distinguished Service Award the following year. Grossman served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs until his initial retirement in 2005.

Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan

Grossman was lured out of retirement by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to become the United States Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, an appointment he received following the death of the first Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke.[1][2][6] He began his role on February 22, 2011 and concluded his tenure on December 14, 2012.[7]

Private sector career

Grossman serves as Vice Chairman of The Cohen Group.[8] He also serves as the Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Master of Science in Foreign Service Program at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where he serves as a practitioner faculty member.[9] He is a member of the advisory board for DC based non-profit America Abroad Media.[10]

Personal life

Grossman married Mildred Anne Patterson in May 1982.[5][11] The couple had their first date on November 3, 1979, one day prior to the Iran hostage crisis.[11] They have an adopted daughter, Anne, who was born in Giresun, Turkey.[5][11] Grossman speaks French and Turkish in addition to English.[5]

References

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  2. 2.0 2.1 US Department of State biography at the Wayback Machine (archived April 11, 2012)
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  10. http://americaabroadmedia.org/user/47/James_K._Glassman
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External links

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Turkey
January 3, 1995 – June 1, 1997
Succeeded by
Mark Robert Parris
Government offices
Preceded by Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs
August 5, 1997 – May 31, 2000
Succeeded by
A. Elizabeth Jones
Preceded by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
March 26, 2001 – February 25, 2005
Succeeded by
R. Nicholas Burns