Ambassador Donald K. Steinberg
Director of the Joint Policy Council of the U.S. Department of State

"Conflict, Gender and Human Rights: Lessons from the Field" - January 14, 2004 Watch Lecture Read Booklet Purchase Booklet "Bringing women to the peace table improves the quality of agreements reached and increases the chance that these agreements will be implemented successfully, just as involving women in post-conflict governments reduces the likelihood of returning to war." - Ambassador Donald Steinberg

In September 2003, Donald K. Steinberg was named director of the Joint Policy Council, which has as its goal to ensure that our foreign assistance is fully aligned with our foreign policy goals and objectives. In this role, he oversees a dozen working groups addressing such issues as democracy and human rights, post-conflict reconstruction, and social and environmental issues.

Ambassador Steinberg previously served as principal deputy director of policy planning for the U.S. Department of State (2001 to 2003), where he helped formulate and coordinate long-term policies to achieve U.S. foreign policy objectives, especially related to the fight against global terrorism and the security, political and reconstruction needs for a post-Taliban Afghanistan.

From 1998 to 2001, Ambassador Steinberg served as the special representative of the president and secretary of state for global humanitarian demining. He was also deputy assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration (2000 to 2001), special coordinator for Haiti (1999 to 2001), U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Angola (1995 to 1998); senior director for African affairs at the National Security Council (1994 to 1995) and deputy White House press secretary (1993 to 1994).

In December 2003, he received the Hunt Award for Advancing Women’s Role in Policy Formulation. In 2002, Secretary of State Colin Powell presented him the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award, its highest performance award. He has also received the Frasure Award for promoting international peace, the Presidential Meritorious Honor Award, five State Department Superior Honor Awards and Columbia University’s Pulitzer Fellowship and Hough Award for Excellence in Print. In 2000, he addressed the U.N. General Assembly and delivered the keynote address at the commencement at Reed College, his alma mater.

A career Foreign Service Officer with the rank of minister-counselor, he has had diplomatic postings in South Africa, Brazil, Central African Republic, Malaysia and Mauritius.

Ambassador Steinberg received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Reed College in Portland, Ore., and master’s degrees in Political Economy from the University of Toronto and Journalism from Columbia University. He was born in Los Angeles, Calif.

Updated on 1/14/2004