Ambassador Eric S. Rubin

Ambassador Eric S. Rubin is a diplomat whose career in the U.S. Foreign Service spanned nearly four decades. Rubin joined the Foreign Service after graduating from Yale, beginning as a political and human rights officer in Honduras. He later worked in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs, monitoring and reporting on the collapse of the Soviet Union, and served as deputy political counselor in Kyiv, Ukraine. For his work on the Bosnia crisis, Rubin received the William R. Rivkin Award for Constructive Dissent by Mid-Level Officers from the American Foreign Service Association.

Rubin's diplomatic assignments included serving as assistant White House press secretary for foreign affairs and as special assistant to Ambassador Thomas Pickering, then under secretary of state for political affairs. He was a Rusk Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, where he taught about diplomacy. Rubin also served as deputy chief of mission in Moscow and as chargé d'affaires during the Russia-Georgia war, gaining regional expertise in European and Eurasian affairs.

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service at the class of minister-counselor, Rubin served as deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs before his appointment as U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria. Nominated for the post by President Barack Obama, he was confirmed by the Senate. During his tenure, Rubin received Bulgaria's highest award, the Stara Planina First Order, for his work in developing bilateral relations. He is fluent in Thai, French, Spanish, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, and Russian.

Rubin served as elected president of the American Foreign Service Association following his posting as ambassador to Bulgaria, advocating for the career Foreign Service during a period of institutional challenge. He has addressed topics such as the war in Ukraine, U.S.-China relations, and the role of the United States Foreign Service in shaping American foreign policy. After retiring from government service, Rubin became a senior fellow with the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis and continues to write and speak on American diplomacy, transatlantic security, and the NATO Alliance through the American Academy of Diplomacy, where he serves on the board.