James Rubin

James Rubin is an internationally renowned foreign affairs journalist, academic, and world-leading authority on U.S. diplomatic, national security and foreign policy. In September 2014, he joined The Sunday Times as a columnist.

Rubin served under President Clinton as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Chief Spokesman for Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright from 1997-2000. He also acted as a special negotiator during the Kosovo crisis to secure the demobilisation of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

He was a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University’s Rothermere American Institute (2013-2014). In New York, Rubin was a Commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a Counsellor to Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) (2011-2013); adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (2009-2011); and Co-Executive Editor of Bloomberg View in 2011.

From 2000-2008, Rubin worked in London as a broadcaster, professor, and financial communications strategist. He was Anchor and World Affairs Commentator for SKY News from 2005-2007, a Visiting Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics from 2001-2004; a partner in the Brunswick Group – a financial advisory firm – from 2001-2004; and co-anchor of Wide Angle, an international affairs series on PBS, in 2002 and 2003.

During the 2008 election cycle, he represented Hillary Clinton’s campaign in debates and TV appearances on international affairs. In 2004, he was Senior Adviser for National Security for the Kerry/Edwards Campaign, and in 1996, he was Director of Foreign Policy for Clinton/Gore.

Previously, he served as Senior Adviser and Spokesman for the U.S. Representative to the United Nations, Madeline K. Albright (1993-1996), Professional Staff Member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and Senior Foreign Policy Adviser to Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (1989-1993). He began his professional career as a Senior Analyst and Research Director for the nonpartisan Arms Control Association. (1985-1989).

In 1998, Rubin was the recipient of Columbia University's John Jay Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement. In 2000, he received the State Department’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science (1982) and a Masters in International Affairs (1984) from Columbia University.

He has written extensively for The New York Times, Financial Times, Washington Post, The New Republic, Newsweek, and Foreign Affairs; and appears frequently on CNN, BBC, SKY, and MSNBC.

Rubin serves on the Board of the International Peace Institute. He lives in London.