Peter W. Galbraith First US Ambassador to Croatia Date of Birth: 31.12.1950 Country: USA

1. Biography of Peter Galbraith
2. Education and Diplomatic Career
3. Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan
4. Controversial Dismissal and Post-UN Career

Biography of Peter Galbraith

Peter W. Galbraith, the first U.S. ambassador to Croatia, was born in 1950. He is one of the three sons of John Kenneth Galbraith, a prominent American economist, analyst, and theorist, who authored several books. His mother is Catherine Atwater. Galbraith is married to Town Bringa, and they have three children. The Galbraiths have a home in Townshend, Vermont.

Education and Diplomatic Career

Peter Galbraith holds degrees from Harvard University, Oxford University, and Georgetown University. Since 1979, Galbraith has worked as a diplomat for the U.S. Committee on Foreign Relations. Becoming a renowned diplomat and achieving a high position and respect in his service, Peter Galbraith worked in the Middle East as well as in European countries. From 1993 to 1998, Galbraith served as the U.S. ambassador to Croatia. In 2000-2001, he worked as the Director of Political Affairs in the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor. In 2003, Galbraith left the government after 24 years of service, which gave him the freedom to critically analyze U.S. policy in Iraq. As a consistent and staunch opponent of military actions in Iraq, he wrote two books, each of which criticizes the war in the East – a topic that deeply concerned the politician, who had repeatedly been to the conflict zone. Later, he worked as a Senior Fellow at the Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Center and founded an independent group specializing in facilitating international negotiations.

Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan

On March 25, 2009, Peter Galbraith was appointed as the Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan by the U.S. Secretary-General. He arrived in Kabul and began his duties on June 2, 2009. In the UN mission, he was responsible for assisting the Afghan authorities in preparing and conducting elections.

Controversial Dismissal and Post-UN Career

In August 2009, Peter Galbraith was unexpectedly and quickly removed from his position. The reasons for his resignation were not reported. However, Galbraith himself disagreed with the decision of the Secretary-General. In an interview with the BBC, he stated that his dismissal was due to his unwillingness to turn a blind eye to the manipulations during the presidential elections in Afghanistan. According to him, Galbraith had multiple "evidence of fraud," but his superior, the head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, "did not want to disclose these facts." The decision to fire Peter Galbraith was made based on statements from several members of the Afghan leadership who claimed they "could no longer work with him." Galbraith returned to the UN headquarters in New York to await a new appointment.