Robert Dean Blackwill (born August 8, 1939) is a retired American diplomat, author, senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, and lobbyist. Blackwill served as the United States Ambassador to India under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003 and as United States National Security Council Deputy for Iraq from 2003 to 2004, where he was a liaison between Paul Bremer and Condoleezza Rice.

Early life, education, and Peace Corps service

Blackwill was born on August 8, 1939, in Kellogg, Idaho He earned a B.A. from Wichita State University.

Blackwill served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi from 1964 to 1966. In an interview with Rediff News on June 27, 2006, Blackwill was asked if he was still in contact with Theroux, and he replied, "Not recently. But I just finished reading his new novel, Blinding Light. It is terrific."

Diplomatic career

1960s

In 1967, Blackwill was appointed as a Foreign Service Officer. From 1975 to 1978, Blackwill served as a political-military officer in London, England.

Publications

In 2024, Blackwill released "Lost Decade: The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power" with co-author Richard Fontaine.

Articles

  • Policy Prescriptions for U.S.-China Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, January 9, 2023
  • Ukraine War Should Slow But Not Stop the U.S. Pivot to Asia, Bloomberg Opinion, March 8, 2022 (co-authored with Richard Fontaine)

While at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Blackwill contributed to the following books and articles:

  • Conventional Arms Control and East-West Security (1989, nonfiction, co-editor)
  • A Primer for the Nuclear Age (1990, nonfiction, co-editor)

US Ambassador to India

Advisor to Bush Campaign

Blackwill, a Republican, He was committed to taking India seriously as an American ally as a counterweight to China's growing power.

Relations with Pakistan

One of Blackwill's major concerns while ambassador was terrorism in India and relations between India and Pakistan.

Controversy over management style

On April 22, 2003, Blackwill announced that he was resigning as US ambassador to India to return to his academic career at Harvard University. In his new post on the National Security Council, Blackwill quickly became the alter ego to national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. He was given free rein to track global trends and predict unintended consequences of US foreign policy decisions anywhere in the world by providing long-range planning for a foreign policy team under stress from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Alleged abuse of U.S. female staffer and abrupt departure from the Administration

On November 5, 2004, Blackwill announced his resignation from the administration. He had been mentioned as a possible successor to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice in Bush's second term, but he told associates that he had spent six years working for Bush—two years as a foreign policy adviser to his first presidential campaign, two years as ambassador to India and two years at the White House—and that the presidential election seemed like a natural end to this cycle in his life.

On November 12, 2004, Glenn Kessler and Al Kamen reported in The Washington Post that Condoleezza Rice had interviewed Blackwill and taken action to ensure that he dealt with his colleagues and subordinates appropriately after reports in September 2004 that he appeared to have verbally abused and physically hurt a female embassy staffer during a visit to Kuwait. Anger at the top of the State Department was palpable, according to The Washington Post. "...Senior officials at the State Department took her concerns seriously. Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage called her on Powell's behalf and expressed regret for the incident. Armitage then visited her and her husband during a recent trip to Kuwait to assure her that her concerns were being addressed, the State Department official said." A spokesman for the National Security Council said the incident was not the reason Blackwill abruptly quit his job. On March 23, 2005, the Deccan Herald reported that Blackwill had spoken to the Confederation of Indian Industry in Bangalore saying that the US should enter into a long-term program of space co-operation with India, and lift restrictions on the assistance given to civilian nuclear industry and hi-tech trade. On August 31, 2005, the Daily Times of Pakistan reported that Barbour, Griffith, and Rogers had won a contract to help get an Indo-US nuclear deal through Congress.

On December 27, 2007, the Daily Times of Pakistan published a story saying that Blackwill was on the payroll of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman providing lobbying services for them for large defense contracts from the Indian government.

On April 20, 2008, The Times of India reported that Blackwill said that the next US President may not push the nuclear deal with India because he will not have the same sunk costs in the agreement as President Bush. Blackwill added that the next US President would not go back to lecturing India about its nuclear program.

Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq

The Regional Government has paid Barbour Griffith & Rogers $1.4 million since 2005. On the evening of 19 September 2006, while Thaksin was visiting New York City, to attend a United Nations summit and to speak at the Council on Foreign Relations, the army took control of Bangkok.

Other clients

On October 29, 2007, The New York Times disclosed that Blackwill's other clients include Serbia, China, and the Alfa-Bank in Moscow. In September 2010, Blackwill rejoined the Council on Foreign Relations as the Henry Kissinger Senior Fellow.

Punditry

Relations with Pakistan

On October 21, 2007, the New York Times reported on the "nightmare scenario" in Pakistan in the aftermath of the carnage after bombs exploded killing and wounding hundreds of supporters of Benazir Bhutto after her arrival in Pakistan.

2020 Election

In 2020, Blackwill, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that President Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."

Memberships, honors, and awards

  • Member of Executive Committee
  • Board member of the Nixon Center.
  • Member of the guiding coalition of Project on National Security Reform.
  • Awarded India's third highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan, in 2016.

Personal life

Blackwill is married to Wera Hildebrand and has five grown children.