Paula Dobriansky

Paula Dobriansky


United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland
In office February 15, 2007 – January 20, 2009
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Mitchell Reiss
Succeeded by	Declan Kelly
Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs
In office May 1, 2001 – January 20, 2009
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Frank E. Loy
Succeeded by	Maria Otero
Personal details
Born	(1955-09-14) September 14, 1955 (age 61) Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	Georgetown University (BS) Harvard University (MA, PhD)

Paula Jon Dobriansky (born September 14, 1955) is an American foreign policy expert who has served in key roles as a diplomat and policy maker in the administrations of five U.S. presidents, both Democrat and Republican. She is a specialist in the areas of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and in political-military affairs. She served as Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs from 2001–2009. Dobriansky is a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Dobriansky graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and earned her master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard University in political-military affairs. She is a Fulbright-Hays scholar and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Her late father, Lev Dobriansky, was a Ukrainian-American economist and prominent anti-communist activist who initiated the Captive Nations Week during the Eisenhower Administration.

Since March 4, 2009, Dobriansky has served as a Senior Fellow at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Dobriansky is also a co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center's commission on stabilizing fragile states. She also serves as an Advisory Board member for the Partnership for a Secure America.