Jim O’Brien served as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs in the Biden administration, as head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination, and under President Obama as the special envoy for hostage affairs. He was also a career official at the State Department from 1989 to 2001, serving in the Office of the Secretary, Policy Planning, and the Office of the Legal Adviser as well as presidential envoy for the Balkans.
Outside government, O’Brien was a founder and Vice Chair of international advisory firm Albright Stonebridge group (ASG), which has worked in more than 100 countries globally since 2001. He holds a JD from Yale Law School, a MA from the University of Pittsburgh, and a BA from Macalester College.
Currently, Jim O’Brien is a fellow at Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna and distinguished visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. At ECFR, he works on identifying issues that can form the basis of a renewed and sustained transatlantic partnership.
Source: ECFR