Adrian A. Basora
Encyclopedia
Adrian Anthony Basora is an American
diplomat
, and former United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic
. He is currently a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute
researching democratization in the post-Communist states of Europe and Central Asia, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
.
Basora graduated with an AB
from Fordham University
in 1960 and a CEP at the Institut d'études politiques
in 1962, and later earned an MPA
at Princeton University
.
A resident of New Hampshire, he is married to Pauline Barnes, a writer, and has one daughter.
.
He spent his early career doing political and economic work in Peru
and Paraguay
, and press and cultural work in Romania
. He served as Deputy Treasury Representative and then U.S. Commercial Attaché to France
1976-1980, where he engaged the French on various financial and economic issues, and counseled and advocated for U.S. firms. He was appointed Director of Development Finance in 1980, where he represented the State Department
in various multilateral financial institutions. He returned to Paris in 1983 as U.S. Political Counselor. In 1986 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid. While in that role he served as Deputy Negotiator in U.S.-Spanish base agreement talks addressing post-Franco
frictions.
In 1989, Basora joined the White House staff as Director for European Affairs on the National Security Council
, participating in reshaping U.S. policy after the fall of the Berlin Wall
. He organized a high-level presidential mission to Poland
to highlight U.S. support for post-Communist governments in Eastern Europe
, and helped design and launch U.S. and multilateral assistance programs to fund rapid economic transformation of former Soviet Bloc states.
, he was selected as U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia
on May 1, 1992 by President George H. W. Bush
. He was formally appointed on June 15 of that year, and presented credentials on July 20. In the meantime, on June 1, the "Velvet Divorce" (dissolution of Czechoslovakia
) had been announced, to take effect January 1, 1993, after which he continued as chief of mission in Prague
, and Ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Basora oversaw implementation of a $65 million U.S. assistance program to facilitate the opening of Czech civil society as well as privatization
and other market reforms. The Czech Republic became the first post-Communist European country to "graduate" from U.S. assistance, which he attributes to this “jump start”. Basora also advocated for U.S. firms investing in the country, including the first American acquisition of a TV station in the region. He left the post on July 15, 1995.
, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
-based organization which supports networking between potential leaders in the United States and those in other countries. He continues to serve as past president and a trustee, and as a trustee of the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), which conducts academic and leadership exchanges between the U.S. and certain post-Communist countries.
He led the Project on Democratic Transitions of the Foreign Policy Research Institute
as its director from its launch in January 2005. The Project was a two-year assessment of the economic, political, and social changes in Central and Eastern Europe since the fall of communism, to see if lessons learned could improve reforms in Russia
and other countries. In 2006, he published an article identifying 19 of the 28 former communist countries as "successful" transitions with a number of similarities He has since written more pessimistically about the progress of democratization in the former Soviet bloc, however, and urged stronger U.S. interest
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, and former United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic
United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic
Following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918 at the end of The Great War, the Bohemians, Moravians, and Slovaks united to form the new nation of Czechoslovakia...
. He is currently a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute
Foreign Policy Research Institute
The Foreign Policy Research Institute is an American neoconservative think tank based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is "devoted to bringing the insights of scholarship to bear on the development of policies that advance U.S...
researching democratization in the post-Communist states of Europe and Central Asia, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
.
Basora graduated with an AB
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
in 1960 and a CEP at the Institut d'études politiques
Institut d'études politiques
Instituts d'études politiques , or IEPs, are nine publicly owned institutions of higher learning in France. They are located in Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Paris, Rennes, Strasbourg and Toulouse , and their vocation is the study and research of contemporary political science...
in 1962, and later earned an MPA
Master of Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...
at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
A resident of New Hampshire, he is married to Pauline Barnes, a writer, and has one daughter.
Diplomatic career
Basora was a career diplomat in the United States Foreign ServiceUnited States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
.
He spent his early career doing political and economic work in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, and press and cultural work in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. He served as Deputy Treasury Representative and then U.S. Commercial Attaché to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
1976-1980, where he engaged the French on various financial and economic issues, and counseled and advocated for U.S. firms. He was appointed Director of Development Finance in 1980, where he represented the State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
in various multilateral financial institutions. He returned to Paris in 1983 as U.S. Political Counselor. In 1986 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid. While in that role he served as Deputy Negotiator in U.S.-Spanish base agreement talks addressing post-Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
frictions.
In 1989, Basora joined the White House staff as Director for European Affairs on the National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
, participating in reshaping U.S. policy after the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
. He organized a high-level presidential mission to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to highlight U.S. support for post-Communist governments in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, and helped design and launch U.S. and multilateral assistance programs to fund rapid economic transformation of former Soviet Bloc states.
Ambassadorship
After a brief stint as a research associate at the Center for the Study of Foreign Affairs at the Foreign Service InstituteForeign Service Institute
The Foreign Service Institute is the United States Federal Government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats and other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests overseas and in Washington...
, he was selected as U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
on May 1, 1992 by President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
. He was formally appointed on June 15 of that year, and presented credentials on July 20. In the meantime, on June 1, the "Velvet Divorce" (dissolution of Czechoslovakia
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
The dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which took effect on 1 January 1993, was an event that saw the self-determined separation of the federal state of Czechoslovakia. The Czech Republic and Slovakia, entities which had arisen in 1969 within the framework of Czechoslovak federalisation, became...
) had been announced, to take effect January 1, 1993, after which he continued as chief of mission in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, and Ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Basora oversaw implementation of a $65 million U.S. assistance program to facilitate the opening of Czech civil society as well as privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
and other market reforms. The Czech Republic became the first post-Communist European country to "graduate" from U.S. assistance, which he attributes to this “jump start”. Basora also advocated for U.S. firms investing in the country, including the first American acquisition of a TV station in the region. He left the post on July 15, 1995.
Later career
From June 1996 to August 2004 he served as president of the Eisenhower FellowshipsEisenhower Fellowships
Eisenhower Fellowships is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization created in 1953 by a group of prominent American citizens to honor President Dwight D. Eisenhower for his contribution to humanity as a soldier, statesman, and world leader...
, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
-based organization which supports networking between potential leaders in the United States and those in other countries. He continues to serve as past president and a trustee, and as a trustee of the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), which conducts academic and leadership exchanges between the U.S. and certain post-Communist countries.
He led the Project on Democratic Transitions of the Foreign Policy Research Institute
Foreign Policy Research Institute
The Foreign Policy Research Institute is an American neoconservative think tank based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is "devoted to bringing the insights of scholarship to bear on the development of policies that advance U.S...
as its director from its launch in January 2005. The Project was a two-year assessment of the economic, political, and social changes in Central and Eastern Europe since the fall of communism, to see if lessons learned could improve reforms in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and other countries. In 2006, he published an article identifying 19 of the 28 former communist countries as "successful" transitions with a number of similarities He has since written more pessimistically about the progress of democratization in the former Soviet bloc, however, and urged stronger U.S. interest