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Biography Robert S. Gelbard Ambassador to Indonesia

Robert S. Gelbard was nominated by President Clinton to be Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia on June 18, 1999 and confirmed by the Senate for that position on August 3, 1999. He arrived in Jakarta on October 4 and presented his credentials to President Habibie on October 18, 1999. Prior to this, Ambassador Gelbard served as the Special Representative of the President and the Secretary of State for Implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords from April 1997 until August 1999. In that position, Ambassador Gelbard was responsible for all aspects of U.S. government policy development and civilian implementation in the Balkans, including particularly, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia-Montenegro and Croatia. Prior to that, Ambassador Gelbard served as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs from 1993 until 1997. Ambassador Gelbard joined the Foreign Service in 1967 after serving in the Peace Corps in Bolivia from 1964 until 1966. After a year in Washington, he was detailed to the Peace Corps as Associate Director in Manila, Republic of the Philippines. From 1970 until 1972, he was assigned as Principal Officer at the United States Consulate in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Returning to the State Department, Ambassador Gelbard was a financial economist in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, specializing in development and international debt issues, and then in the Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs, concentrating on economic and financial issues related to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Union. From 1978 to 1982, Robert Gelbard was Deputy Treasury Representative and First Secretary at the United States Embassy in Paris, France. He also served as U.S. Representative to the Paris Club. Ambassador Gelbard was then reassigned to Washington as Deputy Director of the Office of Western European Affairs from 1982 to 1984. Subsequent to that, he was Director of the Office of Southern African Affairs. In 1985, Ambassador Gelbard was named Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South America, a position he held until 1988. He was then named by President Reagan as Ambassador to Bolivia, a post he held from 1988 until 1991, when he again returned to Washington as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs. While in this position, he served as President Bush's representative preparing for the 1992 San Antonio Summit. Ambassador Gelbard has been a member of numerous U.S. Government delegations to the OECD, particularly the Economic Policy Committee, and he served on the U.S. Delegation to the Conference on International Economic Cooperation (the North/South dialogue). He also was detailed part-time to the President's Council of Economic Advisers in 1978. Robert S. Gelbard was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1944. He graduated from Colby College in 1964 with a BA in history. In 1979, he received a MPA from Harvard University in economics. He also studied economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ambassador Gelbard has received numerous awards, among them the Presidential Meritorious Award and the State Department's Superior Honor and Meritorious Honor Awards. He also is the recipient of the U.S. Coast Guard's Distinguished Public Service Award, its highest commendation for a civilian. The Bolivian Government recognized his service with the "Condor of the Andes, Order of the Grand Cross," the country's highest decoration awarded to foreign citizens. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (J.D.) degree from Villanova University in 1998 for his work bringing peace and stability to the Balkans. He is also an honorary member of the Florida Bar Association, International Section. Ambassador Gelbard is married to Alene Gelbard and has one daughter, Alexandra. Released by the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs January 2000. [end of document] Click for photograph. || East Asian and Pacific Affairs | EAP Chiefs of Mission | EAP Country Information | U.S. Department of State | Disclaimers ||