REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4)
POST: Hungary
CANDIDATE: David Pressman
David Pressman is currently a partner at Jenner & Block LLP where he represents clients in national security and human rights related litigation. He has served as the co-chair of both the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Law Committee and Jenner & Block’s International Human Rights Practice.
Under President Obama, Mr. Pressman served as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations for Special Political Affairs. At the United Nations, Mr. Pressman represented the United States on the United Nations Security Council and led U.S. negotiations on a range of threats to international peace and security, with a particular focus on issues involving Europe, Russia, East Asia and the Pacific, and Africa. Earlier, Mr. Pressman served as Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, leading the Office of Policy Development where he was responsible for formulating and advancing policy initiatives on a range of complex security issues. Mr. Pressman previously served at the White House as Director for War Crimes and Atrocities on the National Security Council, and at the Department of State as an aide to Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright.
Mr. Pressman’s extensive experience with issues of national security and foreign policy, his record of achievement as a diplomat and policymaker, and his success as a leader inside and outside of government, make him a well-qualified candidate to serve as Ambassador to Hungary.
Mr. Pressman received his Bachelor’s degree from Brown University and his Juris Doctor degree (magna cum laude) from New York University School of Law.