Richard L. Morningstar

Ambassador Richard L. Morningstar served as the United States Ambassador to the European Union from 1999-2001. He had been Special Advisor to the President and the Secretary of State for Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy. He was responsible for assuring maximum coordination within the Executive Branch of US policy and programs relating to the development of oil and gas resources in the Caspian Basin.

In April 1995, Ambassador Morningstar was appointed as Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State on Assistance to the New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union, and on June 11, 1996, the Senate confirmed him with the rank of Ambassador. He oversaw all bilateral assistance and the trade and investment activities of the 16 US government agencies engaged in technical assistance, trade and investment, exchange, weapons dismantlement, and other programs in the NIS.

Before he assumed that position, from June 1993 to April 1995, Ambassador Morningstar served as Senior Vice President for Policy and Investment Development at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). He coordinated OPICýs seven-fold increase in NIS finance and insurance programs in 1994. Prior to his position at OPIC, he had more than 20 years of business, policy and legal experience. For over ten years, he served as Chairman and CEO of Costar Corporation, listed by Forbes as one of the top 200 small companies in the country and recognized as one of the nationýs fastest growing exporters. He has advised the Department of Commerce on international trade and technology issues, and he prepared an analysis of the US Trade and Development Agency for the 1992 presidential transition. From 1970-1981, he practiced law with the firm of Peabody & Brown in Boston, Massachusetts.

He graduated from Harvard College with high honors and received a law degree from Stanford Law School. He is married to Faith Pierce Morningstar and has two sons and two daughters.