MARGARET BRENNAN INTERVIEWS AMBASSADOR STUART EIZENSTAT AT THE WHITE HOUSE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION’S DIPLOMACY THEN AND NOW SERIES
For Immediate Release
October 10, 2024 - Washington, DC Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat, author of The Art of Diplomacy: How American Negotiators Reached Historic Agreements that Changed the World, addressed the White House Historical Association and engaged in a fireside chat with noted journalist Margaret Brennan. Entitled “Diplomacy Then and Now,” this represented the final installment in The White House Historical Association's 2024 series, White House History with Margaret Brennan, featuring conversations with prominent American statesmen. Margaret Brennan is the moderator of Face the Nation and anchor for CBS Evening News. She was previously a White House Correspondent and anchored InBusiness with Margaret Brennan on Bloomberg Television.
A video of the program may be accessed here:
https://youtu.be/7PtUEjtsxjY
A reception and book signing followed the formal program. Prior to the start of the event, Dr. Matthew Costello, Vice President of the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History and Senior Historian for the White House Historical Association, escorted Ambassador Eizenstat on a tour of The People’s House: A White House Experience, a museum located adjacent to the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue. Opened just two weeks earlier, on September 26, the three-story museum is a project of the White House Historical Association. The People’s House provides visitors with a rich, immersive, interactive experience which showcases the art, architecture, function and history of the White House.
AIAC has organized and sponsored numerous book talks and book signing events for Ambassador Eizenstat. It has arranged such programs, combined with receptions and luncheons, at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and at the Walbrook Club of London during September. On October 28 and 29, AIAC is sponsoring programs at Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation, Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government, and at Brandeis University.
On the evening of October 28, the director and faculty of the Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation shall honor Ambassador Eizenstat during a private dinner at the Harvard Faculty Club. AIAC Chairman L. M. Levie shall be joined at the dinner by his invited guest, His Excellency Barham Salih, former President of the Republic of Iraq and later that evening, the Honorable Asa Hutchinson, former Governor of Arkansas.
AIAC Chairman L. M. Levie commented, “As a proud supporter and member of the White House Historical Association Legacy Society, I was delighted to see Margaret Brennan’s remarkable interview of my dear friend Stuart Eizenstat, a national treasure, at the WHHA. Margaret is a journalist with extraordinary depth in foreign affairs, business and finance, and long experience as a member of the White House Press Corps. Her incisive questions elicited riveting responses from Stuart. The White House Historical Association is a perfect platform for the Ambassador’s message, which is that persistence, creativity, preparation, and patience can produce attractive negotiation outcomes, even in the most intractable and traumatic global disputes.” He continued, “I also wish to heartily congratulate all my friends at the White House Historical Association on the opening of The People’s House, a remarkable museum at 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue.”
About the Honorable Stuart E. Eizenstat
Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat is Senior Counsel in Covington & Burling LLP’s international practice. His work at Covington focuses on resolving international trade problems and business disputes with the U.S. and foreign governments, and international business transactions and regulations on behalf of U.S. companies and others around the world. He was an Adjunct Lecturer at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government (1982-1991), where he taught a course on presidential decision-making. He has been a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution (1981) and the Woodrow Wilson Center (2001).
During a decade and a half of public service in six U.S. administrations, Ambassador Eizenstat has held a number of key senior positions, including Chief White House Domestic Policy Adviser to President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981); U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs, and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton Administration (1993-2001).
In the Carter White House, he was the major figure in all the domestic legislative achievements of the Carter Administration. He also recommended to President Carter a Presidential Commission on the Holocaust, headed by Elie Wiesel, which led directly to the congressional approval of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
During the Clinton Administration, he had a prominent role in the development of key international initiatives, including the negotiations of the Transatlantic Agenda with the European Union (establishing the framework for the U.S. relationship with the EU); the development of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) among European and US CEOs; the negotiation of agreements with the European Union regarding the Helms-Burton Act and the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act; the negotiation of the Japan Port Agreement with the Japanese government; and the negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, where he led the U.S. delegation.
Much of the interest in providing belated justice for victims of the Holocaust and other victims of Nazi tyranny during World War II was the result of his leadership of the Clinton Administration as Special Representative of the President and Secretary of State on Holocaust-Era Issues, while continuing to hold his other Senate-confirmed positions. He successfully negotiated major agreements with the Swiss, Germans, Austrian and French, and other European countries, covering restitution of property, payment for slave and forced laborers, recovery of looted art, bank accounts, and payment of insurance policies. He was the principal negotiator of the 1998 Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art with 44 countries, which continues to be a basis for recovery and compensation for Nazi-looted art. His book on these events, Imperfect Justice: Looted Assets, Slave Labor, and the Unfinished Business of World War II, has been favorably received in publications like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Business Week, and Publisher’s Weekly. It has been translated into German, French, Czech and Hebrew.
In addition, during the Obama administration, he served as Special Adviser on Holocaust-Era Issues to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of State John Kerry (2009-2017). During this period of his public service, Ambassador Eizenstat negotiated significant Holocaust-related agreement with the governments of Lithuania (2011), and with France (2014), regarding the deportation of Jews on the French railway. During this time, he was also the principal U.S. negotiator for the Terezin Declaration with 47 countries (2009), which strengthened the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art and urging measures to assist the social welfare of poor, elderly Holocaust survivors, and the agreement with over 40 countries on Best Practices and Guidelines for the Restitution and/or Compensation of Private (Immovable) Property Confiscated by the Nazis and their Collaborators Between 1933-1945. In the Obama Administration, he also served on the Defense Policy Board, for Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.
During the Trump administration, he was appointed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as Expert Adviser to the State Department on Holocaust-Era Issues (2008-2021).
In the Biden administration, he is currently serving as Special Adviser to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Holocaust Issues. In this capacity, he played a major role in the negotiation of the Best Practices for the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art (2024), now supported by 25 countries. He was appointed by President Biden as Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council (2022-present).
Since 2009, he has served as pro bono Special Negotiator for the Jewish Claims Conference in negotiations with the German government, obtaining billions of dollars of benefits for poor Holocaust survivors, for home care, social and medical services, enhanced pensions, hardship payments, child survivor and Kindertransport survivors, special supplemental payments for the poorest of the poor, and worldwide educational benefits.
Ambassador Eizenstat has received more than eighty awards, including eight honorary doctorate degrees from universities and academic institutions. He has been awarded high civilian awards from the governments of France (two Legions of Honor awards in 2004 and 2024), Germany, Austria, Israel, Belgium and Lithuania, as well as from Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and the Alexander Hamilton Award from Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers. In 2003, he received the Great Negotiator Award from Harvard Law School. In 2007, he was named "The Leading Lawyer in International Trade" in Washington, DC by Legal Times. His articles appear in The New York Times, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Foreign Policy magazine, and Foreign Affairs magazine, on a variety of international and domestic topics. He was the co-author of Andrew Young: The Path to History (1973), which chronicled how Andrew Young became for the first African American to win a congressional seat in the Deep South since Reconstruction following the Civil War.
His book President Carter: The White House Years (2018, 2020) is a definitive history of the Carter administration, which has been favorably reviewed by The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Review, National Interest, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Moment Magazine, and many other publications. His most recent book is The Art of Diplomacy: How American Negotiators Reached Historic Agreements That Changed the World (20240,which has also won accolades from a variety of publications.
Ambassador Eizenstat grew up in Atlanta and was educated in its public schools. He was All-City and Honorable Mention All-American (Dell Sports Magazine) in basketball. He is a Phi Beta Kappa, cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was inducted into the Order of the Old Well and Golden Fleece Society, and has an endowed chair in his name, The Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat Chair of Modern Jewish History. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School. He was married for 45 years to the late Frances Eizenstat and has two sons, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandson.
For further information, please see:
https://www.cov.com/en/professionals/e/stuart-eizenstat#layout=card
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_E._Eizenstat
About the Art of Diplomacy: How American Negotiators Reached Historic Agreements that Changed History
Ambassador’s Stuart Eizenstat’s The Art of Diplomacy offers a deep dive into the nuanced world of international relations, exploring the multifaceted practice of diplomacy with both historical context and modern relevance. In this comprehensive work, Ambassador Eizenstat, a seasoned expert in diplomatic affairs, sheds light on the essential skills, strategies, and principles that underpin successful diplomacy in today’s complex geopolitical landscape.
The book begins with an exploration of the historical evolution of diplomacy, tracing its origins from ancient practices to the sophisticated mechanisms of contemporary international relations. Ambassador Eizenstat provides rich examples from various historical periods, illustrating how diplomacy has adapted to shifting power dynamics and technological advancements.
Central to The Art of Diplomacy is an examination of the core competencies required for effective diplomacy. Ambassador Eizenstat emphasizes the importance of negotiation skills, cultural intelligence, and strategic communication. He offers practical advice on how to navigate challenging negotiations, manage conflicts, and build lasting alliances while maintaining ethical standards and fostering mutual respect. The book also addresses the role of diplomacy in addressing global issues such as climate change, security, and economic development, highlighting how diplomats can influence policy and drive progress on these critical fronts.
Ambassador’s Eizenstat's writing is characterized by its clarity and depth, making complex concepts accessible to both novices and seasoned professionals. The book is interspersed with case studies and real-world examples that illustrate the application of diplomatic strategies in various contexts. These case studies not only provide practical insights but also provoke thoughtful reflections on the evolving nature of diplomacy.
The Art of Diplomacy serves as both a practical guide and a reflective analysis. It is designed to equip aspiring diplomats, policy makers, and global leaders with the tools they need to navigate the intricate world of international relations effectively. Ambassador Eizenstat’s work is a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the critical role of diplomacy in shaping the global landscape and achieving diplomatic success in an ever-changing world.
Reviews of The Art of Diplomacy
''‘The Art of Diplomacy’ . . . [is] a set of case studies of the conduct of specific international negotiations that reads like an extended syllabus for aspiring ambassadors. These studies are often fascinating and, based as they are on extensive interviews with participants like former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the former C.I.A. director Leon Panetta, they contain a great deal of useful research material. By far the most interesting of them is Eizenstat’s firsthand account of his time negotiating with Swiss, German and Austrian authorities and commercial institutions to secure reparations and restitution for Holocaust survivors. . . . His account of these talks is animated by moral passion and gripping.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“An excellent new book . . . Powerful [and] important.”
—Wolf Blitzer, CNN
“In The Art of Diplomacy, the indefatigable former White House policy director, EU Ambassador, and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Stuart E. Eizenstat draws upon a near half-century of immersion of his own service under six Presidential administrations and recent interviews with eight Secretaries of State, four Secretaries of Defense, three CIA directors, and two Presidents, among others, to document how peacemaking and world-changing agreements can – sometimes – be achieved by persistent, creative, and single-minded U.S. diplomats. . . . Along the way, Eizenstat describes his own education and experiences as a diplomat, from the Carter years, where he was an eyewitness to the Egyptian-Israeli Camp David Accords, to his work in the Clinton Administration to counter climate change and promote trade agreements, and his personal mission, in and out of government, over decades to successfully help victims of the Nazis secure compensation for property stolen that ended up in Swiss banks, private collections, and auction houses. . . . Throughout, Eizenstat describes the benefits and risks of the use of the tools of the diplomatic trade and provides lessons learned. . . .Sharing the secrets behind successes and stumbles that remade the world, [The Art of Diplomacy is] essential reading about the art of making the impossible possible.
—The Cipher Brief
“A magisterial tome on the international negotiations that shaped modern American history, Stuart E. Eizenstat’s The Art of Diplomacy gets down to the brass tacks of foreign affairs. An ode to diplomacy’s power and fickleness, this book hopscotches from intimate, in-the-room portraits of what goes into diplomatic deals to expert accounts of the great American negotiators. . . . What sets the book apart is its prioritization of the individual actors who broker international decisions. In the search for “win-win” compromises, dinners, sporting events, and all manner of creative avenues for engendering trust and goodwill become paramount. Both a primer on how to negotiate and a niche history of the last eight decades in world politics, the book includes hundreds of interviews with top-ranking officials and memories of Eizenstat’s own experiences negotiating. It transitions from what could have been done better . . . toward pragmatic advice for approaching today’s raging international crises . . . generate countless insights. . . . Grand in scope and grounded in decades of experience, The Art of Diplomacy is a compelling work of political history aimed at the diplomatic negotiators of tomorrow.
—Foreword Reviews
“A useful roadmap to successful international negotiations. . . . Negotiations are a crucial part of statecraft, writes Eizenstat . . . [who] aims to distill key events in U.S. negotiations into lessons for the next generation of diplomats and students. . . . A valuable primer . . . Eizenstat covers a lot of ground, writing with the authority and clarity of experience.”
—Kirkus Reviews
About Margaret Brennan
Margaret Brennan is an accomplished American journalist and the moderator of CBS News' Face the Nation, one of the longest-running news programs in U.S. history. She is also a senior foreign affairs correspondent for CBS News. Known for her insightful interviews and in-depth analysis of international and domestic affairs, Brennan has built a reputation as a trusted voice in political journalism.
Born on March 26, 1980, in Stamford, Connecticut, Brennan attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich and graduated with highest distinction from the University of Virginia, where she earned a degree in Foreign Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies with a minor in Arabic.
Before joining CBS News, Brennan worked as a business journalist at Bloomberg Television, where she anchored InBusiness with Margaret Brennan, a weekday program that focused on global financial markets and economic news. During her time at Bloomberg, Brennan interviewed top financial leaders, including CEOs, investors, and government officials, providing key insights into global economic trends and corporate strategies. She reported from financial hubs such as the New York Stock Exchange and covered major global events, including the European debt crisis and the World Economic Forum in Davos. Her experience in business journalism gave her a strong foundation in both financial and foreign affairs reporting.
Brennan's career in journalism began at CNBC, where she worked as a producer and later an on-air correspondent, covering significant events such as the global financial crisis and the Arab Spring. In 2012, she joined CBS News as a State Department correspondent, and her expertise in foreign policy helped her rise to prominence within the network.
Throughout her tenure at CBS, Brennan has conducted high-profile interviews with world leaders and policymakers, known for her rigorous, well-researched approach to journalism. Her work on Face the Nation has earned her accolades for her balanced, thoughtful interviewing style.
In addition to her broadcast journalism, Brennan is a frequent speaker on foreign policy and economic issues and has received several awards for her reporting, including an Emmy for her coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brennan is a board member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Gridiron Club.
Margaret Brennan is married to Yado Yakub, an attorney and judge advocate in the United States Marine Corps. They have two children and reside in Washington, D.C.
For further information, please see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Brennan
https://www.cbsnews.com/team/margaret-brennan/
About the White House Historical Association
The White House Historical Association (WHHA) is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1961 by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy with the mission of preserving the rich history and heritage of the White House. The association works to enhance public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the Executive Mansion. It funds the acquisition of historical furnishings and artwork for the White House, assists with the conservation of its public rooms, and produces educational materials for visitors and scholars alike.
WHHA publishes books, hosts exhibitions, and offers a variety of educational programs, including lectures, tours, and digital resources. Its work supports the maintenance of the White House as a living museum, showcasing American history through the stories of its presidents, first families, and the building itself. Proceeds from the association's activities fund the acquisition and conservation of historically significant objects and artworks, ensuring that future generations can experience the White House’s legacy.
In addition, the association manages an online store that offers books, ornaments, and memorabilia related to White House history. The WHHA collaborates with historians, curators, and experts to maintain a historically accurate and enriching narrative of the nation's most iconic residence.
The White House Historical Association (WHHA), under the leadership of David Rubenstein as chairman, is supported by a mix of corporate sponsors and individual philanthropists. Significant corporate partners include Apple, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BP America, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Meta Platforms, which have contributed to various initiatives including educational projects such as "The People’s House: A White House Experience."
Directors of the WHHA include Fred Ryan, chairman of the White House Endowment and Acquisition Trust and former Publisher of the Washington Post, Tina Tchen, Head of Strategy for the Obama Foundation former Head of Staff for First Lady Michelle Obama and former Assistant to President Barak Obama, and Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, president of Howard University.
For further information, please see:
https://www.whitehousehistory.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Historical_Association
About The People’s House: A White House Experience
The People's House offers an immersive journey through the history and legacy of the White House, featuring educational programs, interactive exhibits, and cutting-edge research. Located adjacent to the White House, this cutting-edge educational museum experience tells the story of the Executive Mansion, its inhabitants and the people who have dedicated their careers to its functions.
For further information, please see:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/09/20/white-house-museum-dc/
http://www.thepeopleshouse.org
About American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC) is a diversified industrial group with manufacturing and distribution sites in 24 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. AIAC has acquired and grown non-core subsidiaries and divisions of Boeing, Siemens, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Johnson Controls, Merck, Pfizer, Astellas, Visteon, Carlyle, Ahlstrom, Tolko, Groupe Suez, Groupe Rexel, and many other leading multinational corporations.
AIAC companies serve companies and governmental entities worldwide in all major sectors, including aviation, space, defense, automotive, truck, rail, marine, petrochemical, solar, nuclear, food, confectionary, beverage, civil engineering and infrastructure, commercial construction, mining, dredging, disaster relief, education, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. AIAC companies manufacture materials, components, assemblies, packaging, equipment, and finished products. In addition, AIAC companies are exclusive, authorized distributors of leading branded industrial and consumer products throughout Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. AIAC is a leading manufacturer of building, street, and highway signage in Europe, signage and illumination structures in North America, and a distributor of electrical products throughout France.
Of note, AIAC purchased Boeing Canada in 2005 and has produced over 10,000 unique components for every Boeing jet plane ever since, reliably serving Boeing from manufacturing facilities in North America. A leader in ultra-high precision jet engine component manufacturing, AIAC companies produce 2,200 fan blades and blisks for each jet engine produced by GE, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, and Honeywell. AIAC companies produce the critical automotive wire and cable for Tesla, GM, Ford, Chrysler- Fiat, Toyota, and Nissan. In connection with its kraft paper manufacturing interests in Canada and the US, AIAC controls and sustainably manages 22 million acres of Manitoba, Canada forestland, an area equivalent in size to the nation of Hungary.
AIAC companies actively support exploration into outer space, manufacturing critical components for launching and propelling spacecraft and satellites. AIAC customers in this sector include NASA, the European Space Agency, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Boeing. AIAC companies also lead in the design and manufacture of undersea umbilical cables for worldwide oceanographic research.
About AIAC Philanthropy
AIAC and the AIAC Foundation support a wide range of nonprofit, nonsectarian, bipartisan organizations which promote international conflict resolution, disaster relief, economic development, environmental sustainability, and exploration.
AIAC’s beneficiaries in the fields of international conflict resolution and understanding and economic development include the Appeal of the Nobel Peace Laureates Foundation Inc., the Asia Society, the Atlantic Council, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Gates Philanthropy Partners, the Bretton Woods Committee, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carter Center, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York, the Foreign Policy Association, the Institut Française des Relations Internationales, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Crisis Group, the International Rescue Committee, the Japan Society, the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) and the Trilateral Commission.
Exploration-focused nonprofit organizations which AIAC actively support include the Explorers Club, the National Geographic Society, the Royal Geographical Society, the American Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Space Society, and the United States Space Foundation.
For further information, see:
https://www.aiac.com/our-values
Media Contact:
Isabel Carro-Toro, Vice President
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
+34 689 295 827 (Spain)
+ 1 787 244 3175 (USA)
icarro-toro@aiac.com