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Robert Finn (diplomat)

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Robert Finn
14th United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
In office
March 21, 2002 – August 1, 2004
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byAdolph Dubs
Succeeded byZalmay Khalilzad
United States Ambassador to Tajikistan
In office
November 11, 1998 – July 13, 2001
PresidentBill Clinton
George W. Bush
Preceded byR. Grant Smith
Succeeded byFranklin Huddle
United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan
Acting
In office
March 16, 1992 – September 15, 1992
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byDiplomatic relations established
Succeeded byRichard Miles
Personal details
Born (1945-12-19) December 19, 1945 (age 78)
Alma materSt. John's University
New York University
Princeton University

Robert Patrick John Finn (born December 19, 1945) is an American scholar of Turkish Studies and International Relations, and was the first United States ambassador to Afghanistan in more than 20 years, from March 22, 2002, until August 1, 2004.[1] He was succeeded by Zalmay Khalilzad.

Life

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Finn grew up in the Parkchester planned community in the Bronx, in New York City[2] and earned a B.A. in American Literature and European History with honors from St. John's University, an M.A. in Near Eastern Studies from New York University and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University in 1978. Finn's doctoral dissertation was titled "The early Turkish novel: 1872-1900."[3] He currently holds a professorship there in Turkic studies and international relations. He speaks fifteen languages, including most Central Asian tongues.

Finn was a member of the Foreign Service from 1978 to August 2005. In 1992, he opened (as chargé d'affaires) the United States embassy to Azerbaijan and served as charge and deputy chief of mission there for three years. He also served as the U.S. ambassador to Tajikistan from 1998 through 2001. He has also served in Turkey, Croatia and Pakistan.

Works

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  • The Early Turkish Novel, 1872-1900 (Isis Press, 1984)
Translations
  • Nazli Eray (2006). Orpheus. University of Texas at Austin. ISBN 9780292714090.
  • Orhan Pamuk (2012). Silent House. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780307958556. Robert Finn silent.
Editor
  • (with Wolfgang F. Danspeckgruber) of Building State and Security in Afghanistan (Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, 2007); Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, 2007, ISBN 9780977354443

References

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  1. ^ "Finn, Robert". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  2. ^ Bolick, Kate (January 8, 2010). "From the Bronx to Kabul: How Robert Finn's childhood home prepared the former U.S. ambassador for distant outposts". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  3. ^ Finn, Robert P. (1978). The early Turkish novel : 1872-1900.
[edit]
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
First Ambassador
United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan
as Chargé d'affaires ad interim
1992
Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Tajikistan
1998–2001
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Adolph Dubs
(assassinated in 1979)
Ryan Crocker
as Chargé d'affaires
United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
2002–2004
Succeeded by