Robert Finn (diplomat)

Robert Patrick John Finn (born December 19, 1945) is a scholar of Turkish Studies and International Relations, and was the first United States ambassador to Afghanistan in more than 20 years, from March 22, 2002 until August 1, 2003. He was succeeded by Zalmay Khalilzad.

Life

Finn grew up in the Parkchester planned community in the Bronx, in New York City and earned a B.A. in American Literature and European History with honors from St. John's University, an M.A. in Near Eastern Studies from New York University and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University in 1978. He currently holds a professorship there in Turkic studies and international relations. He speaks fifteen languages, including most Central Asian tongues.

Finn was a member of the Foreign Service from 1978 to August 2005. In 1992, he opened (as chargé d'affaires) the United States embassy to Azerbaijan and served as charge and deputy chief of mission there for three years. He also served as the U.S. ambassador to Tajikistan from 1998 through 2001. He has also served in Turkey, Croatia and Pakistan.

Works

• The Early Turkish Novel, 1872-1900 (Isis Press, 1984)

Translations

Editor

• (with Wolfgang F. Danspeckgruber) of Building State and Security in Afghanistan (Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, 2007); Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, 2007, ISBN 9780977354443

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by First Ambassador	United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan (Charge d'affaires ad interim) 1992	Succeeded by Richard Miles
Preceded by R. Grant Smith	United States Ambassador to Tajikistan 1998–2001	Succeeded by Franklin Huddle
Preceded by Adolph Dubs (Assassinated in 1979) Ryan C. Crocker (Charge d'affaires)	United States Ambassador to Afghanistan 2002–2003	Succeeded by Zalmay Khalilzad