Chas W. Freeman, Jr.
Charles W. Freeman
Chas W. Freeman, Jr. became Chairman of Projects International in 1995, after a distinguished thirty-year career in U.S. diplomacy which included positions as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Over these years, Ambassador Freeman negotiated on behalf of the United States with over one hundred foreign governments in East and South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and both Western and Eastern Europe. He is active in supporting Projects International’s clients in all these regions of the world today.
Ambassador Freeman’s government service began in 1965, when he entered the United States Foreign Service. After three years in India, he entered a long period of involvement with China, serving in Taiwan and as the principal American interpreter during President Nixon’s historic 1972 visit to Beijing. He was a member of the advance team that opened the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing in 1973. From 1979 to 1981, he directed Chinese Affairs at the Department of State. He served as Chargé and Deputy Chief of Mission at the American embassy in Beijing (1981–84).
After similarly heading up the U.S. embassy in Bangkok (1984–86), Ambassador Freeman returned to Washington as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 1986 to 1989. In that position, he played a key role in the U.S. diplomatic effort that achieved the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola and the independence of Namibia from South Africa. He became U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 1989, serving in that capacity through the Gulf War and leading an effort that more than doubled non-military exports to the Kingdom as he managed the largest diplomatic mission in the world under crisis conditions. His last government position before he took up his current corporate and other responsibilities, was Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (1993–94), responsible for managing the defense relations of the United States with all regions of the world except the former Soviet Union.
Ambassador Freeman attended the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and received his A.B. from Yale University, as well as a J.D. from the Harvard Law School. He speaks fluent Chinese, French, and Spanish, and can hold conversations in Arabic and several other languages.
Ambassador Freeman is the recipient of numerous high honors and awards for international negotiation and policy and management innovation, including two Distinguished Public Service Awards, three Presidential Meritorious Service Awards, a Distinguished Honor Award, and the Order of ’Abd Al-’Aziz, 1st Class, from Saudi Arabia. He was a Distinguished Fellow of the United States Institute of Peace from 1994 to 1995. He is currently, inter alia, president of the Middle East Policy Council, co-chair of the U.S. China Policy Foundation, vice-chair of the Atlantic Council, a trustee of the Institute for Defense Analyses, a director of the Pacific Pension Institute, and is a member of the International Advisory Board of China National Offshore Oil Co. Ltd. (CNOOC).
Ambassador Freeman is a frequently invited speaker at government ministries and institutions, including in the United States, China, India, Japan, and Korea. He is the author of numerous articles and commentaries on developments in the Arabian Peninsula, East Asia, and transatlantic relations as well as two books on statecraft and diplomacy.
Source: Projects International
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Freeman is author of the newly published America’s Misadventures in the Middle East as well as The Diplomat’s Dictionary (Revised Edition) and Arts of Power: Statecraft and Diplomacy.
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Articles and Interviews on SUSRIS by and with Chas Freeman
- Chas Freeman Excerpt – World Affairs Today – SUSRIStube – April 25, 2011
- The Arab Reawakening and Its Strategic Implications – Freeman – SUSRIS – April 13, 2011
- The Challenge of Asia – Chas Freeman – The Camden Conference – SUSRIS – Feb 18, 2011
- Misadventures: A Conversation with Ambassador Chas Freeman – SUSRIS – Dec 11, 2010
- Book News: “America’s Misadventures in the Middle East” Excerpt – SUSRIS – Dec 11, 2010
- Amb Chas Freeman Opens AUSPC with “Misadventures” Presentation – SUSRIS – oct 25, 2010
- America’s Faltering Search for Mideast Peace – Freeman
- A Conversation with Ambassador Chas Freeman – “An Interesting Moment” – SUSRIS – Exclusive Interview – Mar 22, 2010
- Saudi Arabia: The End of Progress without Change – Chas W. Freeman, Jr. – SUSRIS – Mar 2, 2010
- Arab-U.S. Relations: The Way Forward – Chas. W. Freeman, Jr. – SUSRIS – Oct 29, 2009
- Gestures and Illusions: Assessing Obama’s Riyadh Visit A Conversation with Chas Freeman – SUSRIS – Exclusive Interview – Jul 28, 2009
- Reforms and Relations: Perspectives on the Kingdom – A Conversation with Amb Chas Freeman – SUSRIS – Exclusive Interview – Oct 8, 2008
- Rediscovering Diplomacy: America’s Reputation in the Middle East – Amb. Chas. W. Freeman, Jr. on “Middle East Interviews” - SUSRIS – Oct 3, 2008
- Why Not Try Diplomacy? – Amb. Chas. W. Freeman, Jr. – SUSRIS – Apr 1, 2008
- American Interests, Policies, and Results in the Middle East: Energy, Israel, Access, and the Containment of Muslim Rage – Amb. Chas. W. Freeman, Jr. – SUSRIS IOI – Feb 16, 2008
- Impressions of Arabia, Autumn 2007 – Chas W. Freeman, Jr. – SUSRIS IOI – Nov 26, 2007
- Can American Leadership Be Restored? – Chas W. Freeman, Jr. – SUSRIS IOI – May 31, 2007
- National Security in the Age of Terrorism – Chas W. Freeman, Jr. – SUSRIS IOI – Jan 11, 2007
- The GCC and the Management of Policy Consequences – Chas W Freeman, Jr. – SUSRIS IOI – Nov. 3, 2006
- “American-GCC Relations: An Assessment of Reforms, Elections, Challenges and the Prospects for Regional Peace and Stability” – Chas W. Freeman, Jr., Arab-US Policymakers Conference – Oct. 31, 2006 [Audio/Text]
- Building Understanding: The Role of the MEPC – A Conversation with Chas W. Freeman, Jr. – SUSRIS Interview – Sep 20, 2006
- Strengthening the Relationship: Whose Job? A Conversation with Chas W. Freeman, Jr. – SUSRIS Interview – Aug 14, 2006
- The Arabs Take a Chinese Wife: Sino-Arab Relations in the Decade to Come – Chas W. Freeman, Jr.- SUSRIS IOI – Jun 1, 2006
- How Can the U.S. Re-Open for Business to the Arab World? – MEPC Capitol Hill Forum – Part 1 – Ambassador Chas Freeman – SUSRIS IOI – Apr 14, 2006
- Defining Interests and a Changing Relationship – Ambassador Chas Freeman Interview – Part I – SUSRIS Interview Series – Oct. 29, 2004
- U.S.-Saudi Relations: The Path Ahead – Ambassador Chas Freeman Interview – Part II – SUSRIS Interview Series – Oct. 30, 2004
- The Way Forward: A Diplomat’s Perspective – Remarks by Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. – 13th Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference -Washington, DC – September 13, 2004
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