Adrian A. Basora

Trustee

Co-Chair - Eurasia Program

Research Areas:

National Security, democracy

Ambassador Adrian A. Basora is a Trustee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute and Co-Chair of its Eurasia Program. Previously Ambassador Basora was the Director of FPRI’s Project on Democratic Transitions, an in-depth assessment of the political, economic, and social transitions of post-communist Europe/Eurasia twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. For ten years, the Project analyzed the successes and failures of the post-Soviet countries’ transformation efforts and their evolving relationships with the U.S., NATO, the European Union, and other Western institutions. Ambassador Basora is also a past president of Eisenhower Fellowships, participating in an EF global leadership network that included the former President of Turkey, a recent Prime Minister of Taiwan, and over 100 past and current cabinet ministers, plus other leaders such as CEOs, university rectors and NGO and media leaders in over 50 key countries. Earlier, as U.S. Ambassador in Prague, 1992–95, Mr. Basora worked with Czech and Slovak leaders to assure a successful transition during the periods preceding and following Czechoslovakia’s “Velvet Divorce.” He led the implementation of American assistance programs in support of the successful Czech transition to a market economy and consolidated democracy and helped to lay the groundwork for Czech entry into NATO, the OECD, and the European Union. As a career Foreign Service officer on detail to the White House 1989 to 1991, Mr. Basora served as National Security Council Director for European and Soviet Affairs, participating in Washington’s response to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Gulf War. Earlier, he was Deputy Chief of Mission and then Acting Ambassador in Madrid, Political Counselor in Paris, and held varied political and economic assignments in Europe, Latin America, and Washington. Ambassador Basora is fluent in French and Spanish and retains a working knowledge of Czech, Romanian and Italian. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a former trustee of the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX). He holds an MPA in International Affairs from Princeton University and undergraduate degrees from Fordham University and the Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris.

Contact: eurasia@fpri.org