In Memoriam: Amb. Robert E. Hunter

Ambassador Robert E. Hunter was an American diplomat and scholar who had a long and distinguished career. During the Carter Administration, he served on the National Security Council as Director of West European Affairs (’77- ’79) and later was Director of Middle East Affairs (’79- ’81). He was a member of the U.S. negotiating team on the West Bank and Gaza and was the principal author of the Carter Doctrine for the Persian Gulf.

Under President Clinton (’93-’98), Robert Hunter served as U.S. Ambassador to NATO and represented the U.S. to the Western European Union. He was the principal architect and negotiator of the post-Cold War “New NATO” and the NATO airstrike decisions that ended the Bosnian War.

Robert Hunter was twice a recipient of the Department of Defense’s Medal for Distinguished Public Service and was decorated by the Hungarian, Lithuanian, and Polish governments.

Amb. Hunter was also a Senior Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. He was Senior Advisor at the RAND Corporation from 1998 to 2010, Director of the Center for Transatlantic Security Studies at the National Defense University from 2010 to 2012, and a member of the Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board from 2011 to 2017.

Robert  Hunter wrote, lectured, and broadcast extensively on foreign affairs and national security issues. His book Building Security in the Persian Gulf, published by the RAND Corporation, analyzed the need for a new, cooperative regional security framework for the Gulf, addressing challenges like Iran, Iraq’s future, terrorism, and arms control.

Robert Hunter was married to Dr. Shireen Hunter, a distinguished scholar of the Middle East, who held leadership positions at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and research professor at the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU), Georgetown University. Shireen and Robert were frequent participants at ACMCU events and activities. Amb. Hunter will be dearly missed by the faculty, staff, and extended community of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.