January 27, 2012

After nearly two decades of leading the United States Institute of Peace, Richard H. Solomon announced on January 26 that he will step down as president in September 2012.

Solomon told the Institute’s board of directors at its regularly scheduled quarterly meeting, “It has been a privilege to have had the time to lead the Institute through a period of dramatic growth. The international challenges facing our country today require innovative approaches to conflict management and peacebuilding. I am grateful for the support I have had from our dedicated staff and board. It is gratifying that today USIP – now operating in its new building at the northwest corner of the National Mall – is making significant contributions to our nation’s security and foreign relations.”

Institute Board Chairman J. Robinson West said, “Dick Solomon has transformed the Institute into an active and dynamic international problem solving organization. It is a model for how to deal with conflicts abroad. As our country faces continuing international challenges with fewer resources, the peacebuilding professionals of USIP are helping to resolve violent conflicts effectively and efficiently.”

“The Institute today is considered a leading national center for the promotion of rule of law, religion and peacebuilding, civilian-military relations, and the role of media in peacebuilding,” said Ambassador George Moose, vice chairman of the Institute’s board of directors. “Its professional training academy, gaming and simulation activities, applied research and innovation provide the tools for transitions from conflict to peace around the world.”

Solomon has led the Institute since 1993, guiding its evolution from a small, Washington-based, academically focused organization into the nation’s center for global conflict management and peacebuilding. Under Solomon’s direction , USIP not only has increased its national reach and prominence, but it now sends staff to conflict zones around the world to teach and train local populations in the skills of conflict prevention, mitigation, and reconciliation.

The Institute first became operational on the ground during the Balkan crisis in 1995, helping to implement The Dayton Accords. Today, USIP manages peace and stability operations throughout the world, including full-time presences in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

In Iraq, USIP has maintained an active presence since 2003. In 2007, the Institute helped the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division stabilize the restive province of Mahmoudiya through a historic reconciliation agreement between Sunni and Shia tribal leaders. The Institute’s mediation effort established a new pattern of civilian-military cooperation for stabilizing a conflict area. General David H. Petraeus, commander of the Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF–I), called the USIP operation “a striking success.”

In Afghanistan, Institute personnel supported the State Department and the Army’s 4th Infantry Division in helping to improve civil-military coordination among Afghan tribal leaders, government officials and American forces in the volatile eastern region. As well, USIP is currently training networks of local conflict mediators in provinces throughout Afghanistan who can resolve local disputes over land, property, and family, giving Afghans an effective problem-solving alternative to violence.

Most recently, the Institute opened a full-time presence in Pakistan, as a sign of the Institute’s critical involvement and frontline role in supporting U.S. national security interests. Similar to its successful work in Afghanistan, USIP is building networks of facilitators in Pakistan to solve community-level disputes and promote a culture of nonviolence and accommodation.

The peacebuilding skills Solomon worked to professionalize during his tenure at the Institute have been the hallmark of his career. Prior to USIP, Solomon served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs (from 1989 to 1992), during which time he negotiated the Cambodian Peace Agreement through the United Nations Security Council. From 1992 to 1993, as ambassador to the Philippines, he coordinated the closure of U.S. naval bases and developed a framework for bilateral and regional security cooperation. In the late 1980s, he served as director of policy planning at the State Department, supporting the Reagan administration in its efforts to end the U.S.-Soviet Cold War. And as a senior staff member of the National Security Council in the early 1970s he participated in the diplomacy to normalize relations with China.

During Solomon’s tenure at USIP, the Institute has developed training programs which are professionalizing the role of conflict managers and peacebuilders. The Institute’s Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding counts among its students a wide spectrum of professionals from the Departments of Defense and State, nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions.

As Institute president, Solomon has also overseen the work of several blue-ribbon, bipartisan panels which assessed policy options on such issues as U.N. reform, genocide prevention, and approaches to ending the Iraq War. The Institute’s convening power reflects, in part, Solomon’s own success at cultivating an atmosphere of bipartisanship and practical problem solving.

As the Institute begins the search for a new president this fall, USIP will continue to operate under Solomon’s leadership and guidance. As the United States faces the challenge of dealing with international conflicts with fewer resources, the Institute’s low-cost but effective work will become all the more significant.

“As the nation’s national security and foreign affairs agencies transition to a leaner, more strategic allocation of resources, the Institute, with its agile and innovative programs, is well-positioned to make even greater contributions,” Solomon said.