Brookings Announces the John C. Whitehead Senior Fellowship in International Diplomacy

China Expert Jeffrey A. Bader to Hold Position

Brookings President Strobe Talbott and Vice President for Foreign Policy Martin Indyk announced today the creation of the John C. Whitehead Senior Fellowship in International Diplomacy. The fellowship is named in recognition of Mr. Whitehead’s distinguished career both in diplomacy and in the private sector.

A long-time member of the Brookings Board of Trustees, Whitehead served as chairman of the board from 1992 to 1994. He worked at Goldman Sachs for more than 35 years and served as deputy secretary of state from 1985 to 1989. He was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Ronald Reagan and from 2001 to 2006 served as chairman of the Board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the organization responsible for the rebuilding of lower Manhattan after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The first scholar to hold the Whitehead senior fellowship will be Jeffrey A. Bader, who served as senior director for East Asian affairs at the National Security Council and President Barack Obama’s adviser on China and East Asia. In his 27-year career in the Foreign Service, Bader also served as U.S. ambassador to Namibia, as well as in other senior positions in the U.S. Department of State and on the National Security Council, with a primary focus on East Asia.

“Jeff meets the gold standard for Brookings scholarship,” said Talbott. “He brings to his work deep first-hand knowledge of a vitally important part of the world as well as a disciplined intellect, a keen sense of how rigorous research and analysis can contribute to sound policymaking, and vast experience in the policy arena”

From 2001 to 2002, Bader was assistant United States trade representative responsible for the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mongolia. In that capacity, he completed the negotiations for the PRC’s and Taiwan’s accession into the World Trade Organization. He became the founding director of the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings in 2005, where he served until joining the Obama administration in 2009.

Bader is the author of Obama and China’s Rise: An Insider’s Account of America’s Asia Strategy, which will be published by the Brookings Institution Press in early 2012. Since leaving government, Bader has been a visiting scholar in the John L. Thornton China Center. In his new capacity, he will undertake a variety of projects with a focus on U.S. policy toward China and East Asia.

“We are delighted that Jeff will contribute to Brookings’ cutting-edge, policy-relevant research,” said Indyk. “Jeff contributed so much in the founding of the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings. We now look forward to his expanding our scholarship and high-impact , policy-relevant work on China and East Asia.”

In his new position as the Whitehead Fellow, Bader will work in collaboration with China Center Director Kenneth Lieberthal, and the other center scholars—Cheng Li, Jonathan Pollack, and Erica Downs —as well as with Wang Feng, director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy in Beijing.