Philip H. Gordon, who was confirmed as Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs on May 4, 2009, is no stranger to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, having served on Bill Clinton’s National Security Council staff during the former president’s first term in office. Gordon has spent his career studying Europe as an academic and think tank researcher, and is considered a specialist on France and Turkey.
Gordon, 46, received his Bachelor of Arts in French and philosophy from Ohio University in 1984, and his master’s (1987) and PhD (1991) in European studies and international economics from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. He is proficient in French, German and Italian ,and speaks some Spanish.
Gordon became Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council under President Clinton, where he was responsible for as range of issues, including NATO, Western Europe, Turkey and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and in developing and coordinating NATO policy in the run-up to the alliance’s 50th Anniversary summit in Washington, DC.
In 2000, Gordon joined the
Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, where he has been a Senior Fellow for US Foreign Policy and director of the Brookings
Center on the United States and Europe. His research has focused on strategies for confronting global terrorism, with a special emphasis on the Middle East and Europe.
During the 2008 presidential race, Gordon was a foreign policy advisor and leader of the Europe expert group for the Obama campaign.
He has also published articles on international relations and foreign policy and frequently contributes to major publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, and Financial Times.