Robert Finn (diplomat)

Robert Finn
14th United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
In office March 21, 2002 – August 1, 2004
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Adolph Dubs
Succeeded by	Zalmay Khalilzad
United States Ambassador to Tajikistan
In office November 11, 1998 – July 13, 2001
President	Bill Clinton George W. Bush
Preceded by	R. Grant Smith
Succeeded by	Franklin Huddle
United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan Acting
In office March 16, 1992 – September 15, 1992
President	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Diplomatic relations established
Succeeded by	Richard Miles
Personal details
Born	(1945-12-19) December 19, 1945 (age 78)
Alma mater	St. 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

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

• 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

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.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by First Ambassador	United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan as Chargé d'affaires ad interim 1992	Succeeded by Richard Miles
Preceded by R. Grant Smith	United States Ambassador to Tajikistan 1998–2001	Succeeded by Franklin Huddle
Preceded by Adolph Dubs (assassinated in 1979) Ryan Crocker as Chargé d'affaires	United States Ambassador to Afghanistan 2002–2004	Succeeded by Zalmay Khalilzad