Chas Freeman

Chas W. Freeman is a career Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia through the period of the Gulf War. He was nominated as chairman of the National Intelligence Council, but withdrew from consideration after concerns were expressed over conflict of interest with Saudi Arabia and China became President of the Middle East Policy Council in 1997.

Following his service as U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, 1989-1992, he wasAssistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs from 1993-94, earning the highest public service awards of the Department of Defense for his roles in designing a NATO-centered post-Cold War European security system and in reestablishing defense and military relations with China.

1995 - Present Chairman of the Board, Projects International, Inc. 1994-95 Distinguished Fellow, United States Institute of Peace 1993-94 Assistant Secretary of Defense, International Security Affairs 1992-93 Distinguished Fellow, Institute for National Strategic Studies

National Intelligence Council
The circumstances surrounding the nomination were complex. If issues of the appearance of conflict of interest, and of offending domestic influence groups, were set aside, he was widely regarded as well qualified.

He commented on his nomination, by Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, as a surprise; he had been enjoying life outside government. “asking me to give my freedom of speech, my leisure, the greater part of my income, subject myself to the mental colonoscopy of a polygraph, and resume a daily commute to a job with long working hours and a daily ration of political abuse.” I added that I wondered “whether there wasn’t some sort of downside to this offer.

Saudi Arabia
Ambassador Freeman is Chairman of the Board of Projects International, Inc., a Washington-based business development firm that specializes in arranging international joint ventures, acquisitions, and other business operations for its American and foreign clients. He also serves as Co-Chair of the United States-China Policy Foundation and Vice Chair of the Atlantic Council of the United States. He is a member of the boards of the Institute for Defense Analyses, the Washington World Affairs Council, the American Academy of Diplomacy, and the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, as well as an overseer of Roger Williams University and a member of several corporate and non-profit advisory boards.

succeeded Senator George McGovern as President of the Middle East Policy Council on December 1, 1997. He was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the historic U.S. mediation of Namibian independence from South Africa and Cuban troop withdrawal from Angola.

Africa
Between 1986 and 1989 Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, African Affairs

Asia
Chas. Freeman served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires in the American embassies at both Bangkok (1984-1986) and Beijing (1981-1984). He was Director for Chinese Affairs at the U.S. Department of State from 1979-1981. He was the principal American interpreter during the late President Nixon's path-breaking visit to China in 1972.

Education
Ambassador Freeman earned a certificate in Latin American studies from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, certificates in both the national and Taiwan dialects of Chinese from the former Foreign Service Institute field school in Taiwan, a BA from Yale University and a JD from the Harvard Law School. He is the recipient of numerous high honors and awards.

Recent Major Publications and Writings Arts of Power: Statecraft and Diplomacy, U.S. Institute of Peace Press, Washington, D.C., 1997. The Diplomat's Dictionary, Second Edition, revised, U.S. Institute of Peace Press, Washington, D.C. 1997