Former US ambassador to Russia, William Burns, was nominated as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director by President-elect Joe Biden on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th January, 2021) Former US ambassador to Russia, William Burns, was nominated as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director by President-elect Joe Biden on Monday.
Below is a short biography of the candidate for the post of the CIA head.
William Burns was born on April 4, 1956, in the town of Fort Bragg in the US state of North Carolina.
He graduated from La Salle University in the state of Pennsylvania, with a bachelor degree in history, and holds a master's degree and a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar.
Since 1982, Burns has been in foreign service. He held the posts of executive secretary of the US Department of State, special assistant to former Secretaries of State Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright, served as minister-counselor for political affairs at the US Embassy in Moscow, acting director and first deputy director of policy planning at the state department. Burns also was special assistant to the president and senior director of Near East and South Asian affairs at the US National Security Council.
From 1998 to 2001, he was at the helm of the US Embassy in Jordan. After that, from 2001 to 2005, Burns served as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs.
For the next three years, Burns was the US ambassador to Russia.
From 2008-2011, he served as under secretary for political affairs. In 2009, he was also acting head of the state department after the resignation of Condoleezza Rice and before the inauguration of Hillary Clinton.
From 2011 to 2014, Burns occupied the post of deputy secretary of state, being the second career diplomat to hold the office.
In 2014, Burns retired from the foreign service. He holds the rank of ambassador - the highest in the US diplomatic service.
Since February 2015, he has been heading the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank.
William Burns is a member of the American academy of Arts and Sciences.
The former career diplomat speaks three foreign languages � Russian, Arabic and French. He also is the author of the book entitled "Economic Aid and American Policy Toward Egypt, 1955-1981," published in 1985.
He received three Presidential Distinguished Service Awards and a number of Department of State awards, including three Secretary of State Distinguished Service Awards, two Distinguished Honor Awards, and the 2006 Charles E. Cobb, Jr. Ambassadorial Award for Initiative and Success in Trade Development, the 2005 Robert C. Frasure Memorial Award for Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking, as well as the James Clement Dunn Award for exemplary performance at the mid-career level.
In 1994, the Time magazine included him in its list of the "50 Most Promising American Leaders Under Age 40" and its list of "100 Young Global Leaders." In 2013, the Foreign Policy magazine named Burns Diplomat of the Year.
