Biography of Kurt Volker

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State

Kurt Volker assumed his duties as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs in July 2005. As second-in-command of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Mr. Volker is focused on working with Europe as a whole to address the common challenges our nations face, based on our shared values of freedom, through instruments such as NATO, U.S.-European Union relations, the OSCE, and our numerous bilateral relationships. He also oversees strategic planning, congressional relations, and post management for the Bureau.

Mr. Volker, a career member of the U.S. Foreign Service, previously served as Acting Senior Director for European and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC). He served at the NSC for four years, where as Director for NATO and West Europe, he was responsible for transatlantic relations, NATO policy, and bilateral relations with the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and seven other countries. He helped work to reinvigorate U.S. outreach to Europe following the November 2004 U.S. elections. During his time at the NSC, Mr. Volker was responsible for U.S. preparations for the 2004 NATO Istanbul Summit and 2002 Prague Summit, including launching NATO operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, strengthening NATO defense capabilities, bringing in seven new members, and strengthening NATO-Russia relations.

Until July 2001, Mr. Volker was Deputy Director of the Private Office of then-NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson. Within the Secretary General's office, Mr. Volker took primary responsibility for Balkans peacekeeping, defense and nuclear planning, and NATO force and command structure issues.

Prior to working for the Secretary General, Mr. Volker was First Secretary at the U.S. Mission to NATO, responsible for the Membership Action Plan and Partnership for Peace issues.

From 1997-1998, Mr. Volker worked on foreign policy matters for U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ).

From 1994-1997, Mr. Volker was the Deputy Political Counselor and Political-Military Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, Hungary. He played the lead role in negotiating the establishment of U.S. military bases in Hungary to support the IFOR and SFOR missions in Bosnia, as well as a bilateral status of forces agreement.

He has also served in London and the State Department in various positions, including Special Assistant to the Counselor and Special Assistant to the U.S. Special Envoy for Bosnia negotiations. Before joining the Foreign Service in 1988, Mr. Volker served for two years as an analyst at the CIA.

Mr. Volker has a B.A. from Temple University and an M.A. in international relations from George Washington University. He has studied in Sweden and France and speaks Hungarian, Swedish and French. He is married and has two daughters.

Released by the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, July 2005