James Franklin Collins

Infobox US Ambassador
name=James F. Collins


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ambassador_from=United States
country=Russia
term_start=1996
term_end=2001
predecessor=Thomas R. Pickering
successor=Alexander R. Vershbow
president=Bill Clinton
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death_date=
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James Franklin Collins (born 1939) is a former U.S. Ambassador, Russian specialist, and career Foreign Service Officer.

Biography

Collins graduated from Harvard University "cum laude" in 1961 and earned a Masters Degree in History from Indiana University in 1964. He studied at the Moscow State University during 1965-66 as an exchange student in the history faculty and conducted research at the British Museum in 1966 as an Indiana University fellow.He became a professor at the U.S. Naval Academy where he taught Russian and European history, American government and economics.

After joining the Foreign Service, he served in Amman, Jordan and at the Consulate General in Izmir, Turkey. He was posted to Moscow as Second Secretary in 1973-75.

At the State Department in Washington he held positions of Deputy Executive Secretary for Europe and Latin America; Director of the Department of State's Operations Center; and policy positions in the Bureaus of European and Canadian Affairs, Near East and South Asian Affairs, and Intelligence and Research. From 1987 to 1988, he was a staff member of the National Security Council as Director for Intelligence Policy. [http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=18991&prog=zru Press Release: Ambassador James F. Collins to Head Carnegie’s Russian & Eurasian Program] ]

He was assigned to Moscow as Deputy Chief of Mission in 1990 when Jack F. Matlock, Jr. was Ambassador. When Matlock retired, Collins became Chargé d'affaires and was acting Ambassador during the 1991 coup attempt that led to the breakup of the Soviet Union. He then served as Senior Coordinator and Ambassador at Large and Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States, before being named Ambassador to Russia by President Bill Clinton in 1996.

Collins was Ambassador during the summits held between President Clinton and President Boris Yeltsin, and when Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power. [ [http://moscow.usembassy.gov/links/print_ambassadors.php U.S. Ministers and Ambassadors to Russia] American Embassy, Moscow]

After a career in the Foreign Service, he has been active in the non-profit world and has served as a Senior Advisor at the law firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P.

In January 2007 he was appointed the Director of the Russian and Eurasian Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

He is married to Dr. Naomi F. Collins and they have two sons, Robert and Jonathan.

Honorary degrees

* Indiana University
* University of Maryland University College
* The Russian Academy of Sciences
* Nizhniy Novgorod State Linguistics University
* Moscow State University (honorary Professor)

Awards

* Secretary of State's Award for Distinguished Service
* Department of State's Distinguished Honor Award
* Secretary of State’s Award for Career Achievement
* Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service
* NASA Medal for Distinguished Service

Non-profit board memberships

He has served as a board member or advisor to the
* U.S.-Russia Business Council
* American Academy of Diplomacy
* Open World Leadership Center
* American Councils for International Education
* Civilian Research and Development Foundation
* Library of Foreign Literature in Moscow.

Notes