Ivo H. Daalder

Ivo H. Daalder (born March 2, 1960, in The Hague, Netherlands) is a U.S. diplomat who served as the U.S. Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from May 2009 to July 2013 under President Barack Obama. He was a member of the staff of United States National Security Council (NSC) during the administration of President Bill Clinton.

Education and academic career

Daalder was educated at the University of Kent, Oxford University, and Georgetown University, and received his Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He was fellow at Harvard University's Center for Science and International Affairs and the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. He received a Pew Faculty Fellowship in International Affairs and an International Affairs Fellowship of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Daalder was an associate professor at the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs, where he was also director of research at the Center for International and Security Studies. He was a Senior Fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution.

Career

Clinton administration

In 1995–1997, Daalder served as a director for European Affairs on the National Security Council staff under President Bill Clinton, where he was responsible for coordinating U.S. policy toward Bosnia.

From 1998 to 2001, Daalder served as a member of the Study Group of the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century (the Hart-Rudman Commission), a multi-year examination of U.S. national security requirements and institutions.

Obama administration

On March 11, 2009, President Obama nominated Daalder to become the United States Permanent Representative to NATO, a post commonly referred to as "U.S. Ambassador to NATO".

One of the issues that Daalder has addressed is the lack of communication on security issues between NATO and the European Union. In October 2010 he wrote in the International Herald Tribune: "NATO and E.U. capabilities need to be in synch, and their operations need to be complementary. We should regularly engage in a robust and transparent exchange of views on a wide range of shared interests. Policy should support work in the field; those in harm's way shouldn't have to work around our failures in Brussels."

On March 27, the North Atlantic Council voted unanimously to take charge of what became known as Operation Unified Protector. The Operation had three missions; to police the arms embargo, to patrol the no-fly zone, and to protect civilians. Fourteen NATO allies took part in the actual operations, along with contingents from Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. In Libya, unlike other military intervention in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States played a largely supporting role, providing intelligence, aerial surveillance and refueling, while other NATO allies, including France, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Belgium, flew most of the bombing missions.

The first two missions were quickly put into place, but, due to the presence of Gaddafi forces in or near civilian areas, NATO was unable to strike with full force. By August 2011, however, the opposition forces were strong enough to seize Tripoli and within two months had taken control of the entire country. On October 23, 2011–233 days after Operation Unified Protector had begun—the NATO North Atlantic Council declared its mission complete.

Return to private life

Daalder served as President of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs from 2013 to 2023. He then served as the organization's CEO from 2023 to 2025.

Bibliography

Books

• The Empty Throne: America's Abdication of Global Leadership, with James M. Lindsay (PublicAffairs (October, 2018)) ISBN 978-1541773851
• , with I.M. Destler. (Simon & Schuster, 2009). ISBN 9781416553199 OCLC
• (edited, 2007). ISBN 9780815716860 OCLC
• , co-edited with Nicole Gnesotto and Phil Gordon (2006). ISBN 0815716907 OCLC
• , with James M. Lindsay (2003). Winner of 2003 Lionel Gelber Prize. Revised and updated edition published by John Wiley & Sons in 2005. Translated into Chinese, Dutch, Korean, Italian and Polish. ISBN 0815716885 OCLC
• , with Michael E. O'Hanlon (editor), I. M. Destler, David L. Gunter, Robert Litan, Peter Orszag, and James Steinberg (2003).
• , with Michael E. O'Hanlon (editor), I. M. Destler, David L. Gunter, Robert Litan, Peter Orszag, and James Steinberg (2002).
• , with Michael E. O'Hanlon (2000). ISBN 0815716966 OCLC
• (2000). ISBN 0815716923 OCLC

Newspaper articles

Other publications

• "NATO's Victory in Libya- the Right Way to Run an Intervention." Foreign Affairs, March–April 2012.
• , with I. M. Destler, Foreign Affairs, January/February 2009, pp. 114–29.
• , with Jan Lodal, Foreign Affairs, November/December 2008, pp. 80–95.
• "America and the Use of Force: Sources of Legitimacy", with Robert Kagan, in Chollet, Lindberg and Shorr (eds). , 2008.
• , with James M. Lindsay, , Fall 2007.
• , Vrij Nederland, June 16, 2007.
• (With James M. Lindsay) "Democracies of the World, Unite: The Debate Continues", The American Interest, Vol. II, No. 4 (March/April 2007), pp. 137–139
• , with James M. Lindsay, The American Interest, January/February 2007.
• "Renewing the Nuclear Bargain", with Michael H. Fuchs and Morton H. Halperin, in Halperin, Laurenti, Rundlet and Boyer (eds) , 2007.
• , with James Goldgeier, Foreign Affairs, September/October 2006, pp. 105–113.

Personal life

Ambassador Daalder is married to Elisa D. Harris, and they have two sons, Marc and Michael.

External links

• on C-SPAN
• (through Wayback Machine; archived May 10, 2013)
• .
• at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library on September 25, 2014