John Kornblum

Political commentator
Former US Ambassador to Germany

John Kornblum is an international business advisor and political commentator living in Berlin, who is one of the most recognized authorities on Europe and Trans-Atlantic relations. Ambassador Kornblum was appointed Senior Councillor at the German law firm Noerr LLP after serving nine years as Chairman for Germany and Central Europe of the global investment bank Lazard Freres LLP, and as member of the supervisory Board for Lazard Asset Management. He also works regularly as a consultant with several international companies and has been a member of numerous corporate and non-profit boards. Before entering the private sector in 2001, Ambassador Kornblum was an American diplomat for more than 30 years. As a specialist for Europe, he was posted in Germany, Austria, Belgium and Finland, in addition to numerous posts in the State Department in Washington. Among his important assignments were as Minister and Deputy Commandant in Berlin, Deputy US Permanent Representative to NATO, US Ambassador to the Organization for  Security and Cooperation in Europe, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs, Deputy head of US Delegation to the Dayton Balkan Peace Talks, Special Envoy to the Balkans and US Ambassador to Germany.