A career diplomat, Ambassador (ret.) Robert S. Gelbard entered the Foreign Service in 1967 after serving in Bolivia as a member of the Peace Corps. Ambassador Gelbard’s career in the State Department spans more than four decades, during which he has held multiple senior positions: Deputy Treasury Representative and First Secretary at the United States Embassy in Paris, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South America, Ambassador to Bolivia, Special Presidential Envoy to the Balkans during the Clinton administration, Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia, and a Member of the Obama-Biden Presidential National Security Transition Team, amongst other positions. He heads Gelbard International Consulting and is on the Boards of Directors and Advisors of several companies, as well as a think tank, CEPA.