{{Short description|American diplomat (born 1951)}} {{About|the American diplomat|the American artist|Richard Haas}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = Richard Haass (53263545732) (cropped).jpg | caption = Haass in 2023 | office = President of the Council on Foreign Relations | term_start = July 16, 2003 | term_end = June 30, 2023 | predecessor = Leslie H. Gelb | successor = Michael Froman | office2 = United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland | president2 = George W. Bush | term_start2 = February 6, 2001 | term_end2 = July 12, 2003 | predecessor2 = George Mitchell | successor2 = Mitchell Reiss | office3 = 21st Director of Policy Planning | president3 = George W. Bush | term_start3 = February 6, 2001 | term_end3 = July 12, 2003 | predecessor3 = Morton Halperin | successor3 = Mitchell Reiss | birth_name = Richard Nathan Haass | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|7|28}} | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Republican (Before 2020)<br>Independent (2020–present)<ref>{{cite tweet |user=richardhaass |number=1359522536266977286 |title=I changed my registration to "no party affiliation" after 40 years. I worked for Reagan & Bush 41 & 43. But today's Rep Party no longer embraces the policies & principles that led me to join it. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, I didn't leave the Republican Party; the Party left me. / In response: I made this change some 6 months ago when I concluded Trumpism was less an aberration for the Rep party than its new abnormal. I didnt announce it b/c I considered the change to be a mostly private matter, but am doing so now given the enormity of recent events. |date=February 10, 2021 |accessdate=April 21, 2021}}</ref> | spouse = Susan Mercandetti {{small|(1990–present)}} | children = 2 | education = {{Plain list| * Oberlin College {{small|(BA)}} * Wadham College, Oxford {{small|(MPhil)}} * St Antony's College, Oxford {{small|(DPhil)}} }} | awards = {{Plain list| * Presidential Citizens Medal * Secretary's Distinguished Service Award * Tipperary International Peace Award * Gold and Silver Star of the Order of the Rising Sun<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/100575204.pdf|title= 令和５年秋の外国人叙勲 受章者名簿|access-date= November 3, 2023|work= Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan}}</ref> }} }}
'''Richard Nathan Haass''' (born July 28, 1951) is an American diplomat. He was president of the Council on Foreign Relations from July 2003 to June 2023, prior to which he was director of policy planning for the United States Department of State and a close advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell in the George W. Bush administration. In October 2022, Haass announced he would be departing from his position at CFR in June 2023.<ref>Crowley, Michael, [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/19/us/politics/richard-haass-council-foreign-relations.html "Richard Haass to step down as Council on Foreign Relations chief"], ''New York Times'', October 19, 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-06.</ref> He was succeeded by former U.S. trade representative Michael Froman.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Council on Foreign Relations Announces Michael Froman Will Serve as New President |url=https://www.cfr.org/news-releases/council-foreign-relations-announces-michael-froman-will-serve-new-president |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=Council on Foreign Relations |language=en}}</ref>
The Senate approved Haass as a candidate for the position of ambassador and he has been U.S. coordinator for the future of Afghanistan. He succeeded George J. Mitchell as the United States special envoy for Northern Ireland to help the peace process in Northern Ireland, for which he received the State Department's Distinguished Service Award.
At the end of 2003, Mitchell Reiss succeeded him as special envoy. In late 2013, Haass returned to Northern Ireland to chair inter-party talks aimed at addressing some of the unresolved issues from the peace process such as parades, flags, and "the past" (now known as "the Troubles").<ref name = "HaassBBc">{{cite web| url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-25637592| title = Haass Talks| date = January 7, 2014 |access-date = January 8, 2014| publisher = BBC News}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Haass was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, the son of Marcella (née Rosenthal) and Irving B. Haass.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tp4QbCqxzo4C&q=Marcella+Irving+Haass&pg=PA142 |title=The Reluctant Sheriff: The United States After the Cold War |access-date=2014-01-08 |isbn=9780876091982 |year=1997 |last=Haass |first=Richard N. |publisher=Council on Foreign Relations Press }}</ref><ref name=NYTIrvObit>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/09/classified/paid-notice-deaths-haass-irving-b.html |title=Paid Notice: Deaths HAASS, IRVING B. |work=The New York Times |date=1999-11-09 |access-date=2014-01-08}}</ref> Haass graduated from Roslyn High School in 1969.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://theislandnow.com/roslyn-109/richard-haass-roslyn-h-s-graduate-president-council-foreign-relations-releases-book/ |title = Richard Haass, Roslyn H.S. Graduate and president of Council on Foreign Relations, releases book |work=The Island Now |date = 29 March 2017}}</ref> His father was a securities analyst and partner at investment management firm David J. Greene & Co.<ref name=NYTIrvObit /> He completed a bachelor's degree at Oberlin College in 1973, and was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University, where he completed a master's degree and doctoral degree in 1978.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/18/style/richard-haass-assistant-to-president-weds-ms-mercandetti-tv-producer.html |title=Richard Haass, Assistant to President, Weds Ms. Mercandetti, TV Producer |work=The New York Times |date=1990-11-18 |access-date=2017-08-15}}</ref>
==Career== Haass served at the Department of Defense from 1979 to 1980, and at the Department of State from 1981 to 1985. From 1989 to 1993, he was special assistant to President George H. W. Bush and National Security Council senior director for Near East and South Asian Affairs. In 1991, Haass received the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping to develop and explain U.S. policy during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.
Richard Haass worked for Secretary of State Colin Powell in the Bush administration and was director of policy planning at the State Department from 2001 to 2003 during the lead-up to the Iraq War. Haass has said he was 60 percent against the Iraq War.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104088144|title=Richard Haass: 'I Did Not Believe In The Iraq War'|website=NPR.org}}</ref>
Haass's other postings include vice president and director of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, the Sol M. Linowitz Visiting Professor of International Studies at Hamilton College, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a lecturer in public policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.<ref name = "councilforeign">{{cite web| url = http://www.cfr.org/experts/afghanistan-iraq-middle-east-and-north-africa/richard-n-haass/b3350/bio| title = Richard N. Haass biography| access-date = January 8, 2014| publisher = council on foreign relations.org| archive-date = September 23, 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150923222040/http://www.cfr.org/experts/afghanistan-iraq-middle-east-and-north-africa/richard-n-haass/b3350/bio| url-status = dead}}</ref>
Throughout the 2008 presidential campaign, Haass advised several members of both the Republican Party and Democratic Party on issues regarding foreign policy, but did not publicly endorse a candidate due to the Council on Foreign Relations' non-partisan stance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cfr.org/bios/3350/richard_n_haass.html|title=Richard N. Haass - Council on Foreign Relations<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=2008-12-03|archive-date=2011-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110126024201/http://www.cfr.org/bios/3350/richard_n_haass.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In September 2013, Haass returned to Northern Ireland, with Professor Meghan O'Sullivan, to chair all party talks on flags, parades and the legacy of The Troubles, after violence flared over the removal of the union flag at Belfast City Hall. The talks broke down on December 31, 2013.<ref name = "HaassBBc"/>
Haass joined the investment banking firm Centerview Partners as a senior counselor in 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Baker |first=Liana |date=September 12, 2024 |title=Centerview Partners Hires Former Council of Foreign Relations Chief Haass |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-12/centerview-partners-hires-former-council-of-foreign-relations-chief-haass |publisher=Bloomberg News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Megaw |first1=Nicholas |last2=Darbyshire |first2=Madison |last3=Fontanella-Khan |first3=James |date=July 4, 2024 |title=How the investment world is trying to navigate geopolitics |url=https://www.ft.com/content/23ce295d-bf65-47fd-bebd-808b5a7bcab5 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> He is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.
== Foreign policy views == In a May 2015 interview with BBC's ''HARDtalk'', speaking as President of the Council on Foreign Relations, Haass predicted a new era in world history, in part due to the muting of U.S. dominance by the more diffuse power wielded by states and non-state entities as a result of the proliferation of nuclear arms and cyberterrorism, and several policy failures, which may bring about an "era of disorder" in the absence of any clear superpower.<ref name=MontagueTalk>{{cite news|last1=Montague|first1=Sarah|author-link1=Sarah Montague|title=President of the Council on Foreign Relations - Dr Richard Haass|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02q2jtc|access-date=23 May 2015|agency=BBC|date=4 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523012557/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02q2jtc|archive-date=23 May 2015}}</ref>
On October 4, 2017, Haass called for U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to resign.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/353787-council-on-foreign-relations-president-calls-for-tillerson-to|title=Council on Foreign Relations president calls for Tillerson to resign|first=Julia|last=Manchester|date=October 4, 2017|website=The Hill}}</ref>
In December 2021, Haass criticized the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan as “America-first unilateralism in practice," indicating that Biden “did so in a Trumpian way, consulting minimally with others and leaving NATO allies to scramble.”<ref>{{Cite news|last=Haass|first=Richard|date=2021-12-03|title=The Age of America First|language=en-US|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-09-29/biden-trump-age-america-first|access-date=2022-01-25|issn=0015-7120}}</ref>
In April 2023, former U.S. officials including Richard Haass, Charles Kupchan, Thomas Graham, and Mary Beth Long, among others, were reported to have conducted unofficial meetings with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-06 |title=Former U.S. officials have held secret Ukraine talks with Russians |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/former-us-officials-secret-ukraine-talks-russians-war-ukraine-rcna92610 |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> In an extensive article published by the Council on Foreign Relations' Foreign Affairs, Haass and Kupchan detailed what they termed as a "a plan for getting from the battlefield to the negotiating table." These interactions were allegedly centered on adjusting U.S. policy with the intent of facilitating Russia's acquisition of Ukrainian territory, an action that is purportedly in violation of U.S. law. The engagement of former U.S. officials in informal dialogues with Russians has led to a schism among American diplomats, foreign policy academics, and national security experts. Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia under President Obama, voiced concern that conversations about potential resolutions without involvement of Ukrainian representatives, could undermine the stance of the Biden administration insisting that Ukraine’s future can't be decided in backrooms: “If you’re having Track Two negotiations about how to end the war, Ukrainians have to be there,” said McFaul.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-06 |title=Former U.S. officials have held secret Ukraine talks with Russians |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/former-us-officials-secret-ukraine-talks-russians-war-ukraine-rcna92610 |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>
==Personal life== thumb| Haass with his wife Susan Mercandetti at the Pre-White House Correspondents' dinner reception pre-party in May 2014 Haass lives in New York City with his wife, Susan Mercandetti;<ref>{{cite web|author=Published: November 18, 1990 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/18/style/richard-haass-assistant-to-president-weds-ms-mercandetti-tv-producer.html |title=Richard Haass, Assistant to President, Weds Ms. Mercandetti, TV Producer - New York Times |work=The New York Times |date=1990-11-18 |access-date=2014-01-08}}</ref> they have two children.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Grove |first=Lloyd |date=July 12, 2021 |title=The Reliable Source |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/07/12/the-reliable-source/9da8f4de-607d-4c99-9204-fed5d533b0df/ |work=The Washington Post}}</ref>
According to Axios, Haass is a member of Dialog, a secret society founded by Peter Thiel and Auren Hoffman.<ref>{{cite news |last=Allen |first=Mike |title=Scoop: Dialog, a secretive forum, plans D.C.-area campus |url=https://www.axios.com/2025/08/07/dialog-secret-network-thiel-hoffman |work=Axios |date=7 August 2025 |accessdate=11 December 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
== Books == Haass is the author or editor of thirteen books on American foreign policy and one book on management.
'''Books authored:''' * {{Cite book |title=The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens |location=New York |publisher=Penguin Press |year=2023 |isbn=9780525560654 |oclc=1340645618}} * ''The World: A Brief Introduction''. Penguin Press, 2020. {{ISBN|978-0399562396}}. * ''A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order''. Penguin Press, 2017. {{ISBN|978-0399562365}}. * ''Foreign Policy Begins at Home: The Case for Putting America's House in Order''. Basic Books, 2014. {{ISBN|978-0465071999}}. * [https://archive.org/details/warofnecessitywa00rich ''War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars'']. Simon & Schuster, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1416549031}}. * Co-authored with Martin Indyk (2008). [https://archive.org/details/restoringbalance00rich ''Restoring the Balance: A Middle East Strategy for the Next President'']. Brookings Institution Press. {{ISBN|978-0815738695}}. * [https://archive.org/details/opportunityameri00haas ''The Opportunity'']. PublicAffairs, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1586484538}}. * [https://archive.org/details/interventionuseo00haas ''Intervention: The Use of American Military Force in the Post-Cold War World'']. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1999. {{ISBN|978-0870031359}}. * [https://archive.org/details/bureaucraticentr0000haas ''The Bureaucratic Entrepreneur: How to Be Effective in Any Unruly Organization''.] Brookings Institution Press, 1999. {{ISBN|978-0815733539}}. * ''Economic Sanctions and American Diplomacy''. Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1998. {{ISBN|978-0876092125}}. * [https://archive.org/details/reluctantsheriff00rich_0 ''The Reluctant Sheriff: The United States After the Cold War'']. Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1997. {{ISBN|978-0876091982}}.<ref>Gordon, David. [https://archive.today/20201009114102/https://mises.org/library/reluctant-sheriff-united-states-after-cold-war-richard-haass "The Open Conspiracy".] Review of ''The Reluctant Sheriff: The United States After the Cold War'', by Richard Haass. ''The Mises Review'', Vol. 4, No. 2 Summer 1998. Archived from [https://mises.org/library/reluctant-sheriff-united-states-after-cold-war-richard-haass the original].</ref> * [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780395675854 ''The Power to Persuade'']. Houghton Mifflin, 1994. {{ISBN|978-0395675854}}. * ''Conflicts Unending: The United States and Regional Disputes''. Yale University Press, 1990. {{ISBN|978-0300045550}}.
'''Books edited''' * [https://archive.org/details/transatlanticten0000unse ''Transatlantic Tensions: The United States, Europe, and Problem Countries'']. Brookings Institution Press, 1999. {{ISBN|978-0815733522}}. * [https://archive.org/details/superpowerarmsco00carn ''Superpower Arms Control: Setting the Record Straight''], edited with Albert Carnesale. Ballinger Publishing Company, 1987. {{ISBN|978-0887302282}}.
'''Book contributions''' * [https://archive.org/details/war0000unse_i9c3/page/22/ "War Can Be Justified When It Is the Best Policy Option".] [https://archive.org/details/war0000unse_i9c3 ''War'']. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2014, pp. 22–26. {{ISBN|978-0737769715}}.
==Filmography== Haass has appeared as himself on dozens of TV shows and documentaries since 1996.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1467073/ "Richard Haass".] ''IMDb''.</ref> He has served as consultant on NBC News and hosted the online international affairs forum of the ''New York Times''.<ref>[https://archive.today/20201004071432/https://www.brookings.edu/news-releases/international-affairs-scholar-richard-haass-named-to-direct-brookings-foreign-policy-studies-program/ "International Affairs Scholar Richard Haass Named to Direct Brookings Foreign Policy Studies Program"] (News Release). Brookings Institution, July 1, 1996. Archived from [https://www.brookings.edu/news-releases/international-affairs-scholar-richard-haass-named-to-direct-brookings-foreign-policy-studies-program/ the original.]</ref>
Following the publication of ''A World in Disarray'' in 2017, the book was adapted into a feature-length documentary by VICE for release the same year on July 21.{{notetag|The full-length documentary film ''VICE Special Report: A World in Disarray'' is [https://www.cfr.org/AWID available for viewing on the official Council on Foreign Relations website] via YouTube.}} Through interviews with Haass and other policymakers academics associated with the Council, the film explores the themes and concepts laid out in the book: the disorder in today’s international landscape, how it arose, and how it plays out in Syria, Ukraine, the South China Sea, and North Korea.<ref>Haass, Richard N. [https://www.cfr.org/AWID "VICE Special Report: A World in Disarray"] (Teaching Notes). ''Council on Foreign Relations'', November 1, 2017.</ref> In addition to providing commentary throughout the film, Haass served as a consulting producer.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7158540/ "VICE Special Report: A World in Disarray".] ''IMDb''.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB5S7KQ0Gr0 "Ash Carter and Richard Haass Discuss VICE: A World in Disarray"] (YouTube). JuJu Chang presides at the Harold Pratt House in New York. Council on Foreign Relations, July 25, 2017.</ref>
== Explanatory notes == {{notefoot}}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{commons category}} * [http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=richard_haass Richard Haass] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701183406/http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=richard_haass |date=2015-07-01 }} — History Commons * [http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/1999/09/diplomacy-haass What to do with American Primacy] * [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2006/02/21/2003294021 State sovereignty must be altered in globalized era]; An Article written by Richard Haass on the age of globalization. * [http://www.cfr.org/experts/afghanistan-iraq-us-strategy-and-politics/richard-n-haass/b3350 Council of Foreign Relations President Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527045935/http://www.cfr.org/experts/afghanistan-iraq-us-strategy-and-politics/richard-n-haass/b3350 |date=2013-05-27 }} * {{C-SPAN|13639}} * {{Charlie Rose view|975}} * {{IMDb name | nm1467073 }} * {{NYTtopic|people/h/richard_n_haass}} * [https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Haass%2C+Richard%22 Works by Richard Haass] at Internet Archive * [https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?si=1&Query=au%3A%22Richard+Haass%22&refreqid=search%3A4a2452e397ac3a30758e3a894f0ffb5f Works by Richard Haass] at JSTOR
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=Morton Halperin}} {{s-ttl|title=Director of Policy Planning|years=2001–2003}} {{s-aft|after=Mitchell Reiss}} |- {{s-dip}} {{s-bef|before=George J. Mitchell}} {{s-ttl|title=United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland|years=2001–2003}} {{s-aft|after=Mitchell Reiss}} {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Haass, Richard N.}} Category:1951 births Category:20th-century American Jews Category:21st-century American Jews Category:American Rhodes Scholars Category:Directors of policy planning Category:Harvard Kennedy School staff Category:Living people Category:Members of the Inter-American Dialogue Category:Oberlin College alumni Category:Diplomats from Brooklyn Category:Politics of Northern Ireland Category:Presidential Citizens Medal recipients Category:Presidents of the Council on Foreign Relations Category:United States National Security Council staffers Category:United States special envoys Category:Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class