Richard H. Solomon has been president of the United States Institute of Peace since 1993 and has overseen its growth into a center of international conflict management, analysis and applied programs.
Prior to this assignment, Solomon served as senior staff member of the National Security Council (1971-76) where he participated in the normalization of relations with China. Solomon was assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs (1989-1992) and he previously served as director of policy planning at the Department of State (1986-1989). He negotiated the Cambodia peace treaty, the first United Nations "Permanent Five" peacemaking agreement; had a leading role in the dialogue on nuclear issues between the United States and South and North Korea; helped establish the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation initiative; and led U.S. negotiations with Japan, Mongolia and Vietnam on important bilateral matters. In 1992-93, Solomon served as U.S. ambassador to the Philippines. He coordinated the closure of the U.S. naval bases and developed a new framework for bilateral and regional security cooperation.
In 1995, Solomon was awarded the State Department's Foreign Affairs Award for Public Service, and he has received awards for policy initiatives from the governments of Korea and Thailand. In 2005, he received the American Political Science Association’s Hubert H. Humphrey career award for “notable public service by a political scientist."
Solomon began his career as professor of political science at the University of Michigan, and also served as head of the Political Science Department at the RAND Corporation. Solomon holds a Ph.D. in political science, with a specialization in Chinese politics, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Solomon is the author of seven books, including American Negotiating Behavior: Wheeler-Dealers, Legal Eagles, Bullies, and Preachers; Chinese Negotiating Behavior: Pursuing Interests Through "Old Friends;" and Exiting Indochina: U.S. Leadership of the Cambodia Settlement and Normalization with Vietnam.
