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Jeffrey Allen Bader (July 1, 1945 – October 22, 2023) was an American diplomat who was senior director for East Asian affairs on the National Security Council in the Obama Administration, with The New York Times calling him "one of the country's leading experts on China". He also served as the United States Ambassador to Namibia from 1999 to 2001.

Early life and education

Bader was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York in 1945. He held a BA from Yale College (1967) and a MA (1968) and PhD (1975) in European history from Columbia University. He spoke Chinese and French.

Career

Bader first assignment with the United States Foreign Service was in Zaire. However, in 1977, he was chosen by Richard Holbrooke to join a team of up-and-coming diplomats tasked with building U.S. relations with the People's Republic of China. He spent several years in Beijing, and his subsequent work focused on China and East Asia more broadly, except when he served as Ambassador to Namibia during the last two years of presidency of Bill Clinton.

Bader retired from foreign service in 2002 and later joined the Brookings Institution, where he was senior fellow and inaugural director of the John L. Thornton China Center. From 2009 to 2011, he was senior director for East Asian affairs on the National Security Council during the Obama Administration. The following year, he published a memoir entitled Obama and China's Rise: An Insider's Account of America's Asia Strategy.

Personal life and death

In 1985, Bader married documentary filmmaker Rohini Talalla whom he met in New York City. Talalla is an immigrant from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and is of mixed Sri Lankan, Welsh, Burmese and Chinese ancestry. At the time of his death, the couple lived in Venice, Los Angeles.

Bader died from pancreatic cancer at a hospice facility in Los Angeles on October 22, 2023, at the age of 78.

References

1. "Jeffrey A. Bader". The Brookings Institution. Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
2. Sanger, David; Landler, Mark (April 12, 2010). "China Pledges to Work With U.S. on Iran Sanctions". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
3. Reale, Hannah (December 21, 2020). "Jeff Bader on Obama's Past and Biden's Future with China". The Wire China. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
4. ^ Risen, Clay (November 6, 2023). "Jeffrey A. Bader, 78, China Expert Under Clinton and Obama, Dies". The New York Times. p. A20. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
5. "Jeffrey A. Bader". Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
6. The Tablet Magazine: "Your State Dinner Hu's Who – Meet the Jews of America's ruling class" By Marc Tracy January 20, 2011
7. "Biography: Jeffrey A. Bader, Ambassador to Namibia". 1997-2001.state.gov. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
8. Johnston, Christopher (October 1, 2008). "Long-distance relationship: Jeffrey Bader has had an intimate affair with China—and he's eager to tell Deal Maker Forum attendees about it". Inside Business. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
9. "Ambassador Jeffrey A. Bader Named Senior Fellow and Director of Brookings China Initiative". The Brookings Institution. March 28, 2005. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
10. "Jeffrey A. Bader". Brookings. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
11. Washington Life: "ObamaLand: POTUS' China Watcher – President Obama's national security advisor on Asian affairs Jeffrey Bader, accompanied by his wife, Rohini Talalla, talks optimistically about future Chinese-American relations" By Chuck Conconi March 21, 2011
12. "In remembrance of Jeffrey A. Bader". Brookings Institution. October 31, 2023.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Sino-American Relations and US Policy Options, a statement by Jeffrey A. Bader before the House International Relations committee
• U.S.-China relations: Is it time to end the engagement?, a policy brief by Bader for the Brookings Institution.

• 1945 births
• 2023 deaths
• 20th-century American Jews
• 20th-century American diplomats
• 21st-century American Jews
• 21st-century American diplomats
• 21st-century American memoirists
• Ambassadors of the United States to Namibia
• Brookings Institution people
• Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
• Deaths from pancreatic cancer in California
• Diplomats from New York City
• People from Venice, Los Angeles
• United States Foreign Service personnel
• Yale College alumni