Obama to Nominate Esther Brimmer of SAIS to State
Department Post

Brimmer |
By Felisa Neuringer Klubes SAIS
President Barack Obama has announced his intent to
nominate Esther Brimmer, a scholar at
SAIS, to serve as assistant secretary of state for
international organizations. Brimmer is currently
the deputy director and director of research at SAIS'
Center for Transatlantic Relations
and a professorial lecturer.
At the 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.
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, earning his doctorate in 1991,
and a former professorial lecturer in the
school's European Studies
Program.
According to the White House statement issued March 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 trans-Atlantic political
and security affairs, joined SAIS in
November 2001. From 1999 to 2001, she was a member of the
State Department's Office of Policy
Planning, working on the European Union, Western Europe,
the United Nations 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 to 1999, Brimmer managed projects as a senior
associate at the Carnegie Commission on
Preventing Deadly Conflict. From 1993 to 1995, she was a
special assistant to the undersecretary of
state for political affairs. She earned her doctorate in
international relations at the University of
Oxford.
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