James Dobbins

James F. Dobbins, an American diplomat whose career took him to Haiti, Afghanistan and many points in between, and who was both respected as a peace negotiator and widely regarded as the world’s leading authority on nation building, died on Monday July 10 2023 in Washington. He was 81. His sons, Christian and Colin Dobbins, said he died in a hospital from complications of Parkinson’s disease. Dobbins was educated at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. His areas of expertise include Afghanistan, Balkans, Europe, Iraq, Middle East, NATO, trends and issues in international security, U.S.-foreign relations. He's held positions as Assistant Secretary of State for Europe; Special Assistant to the President for the Western Hemisphere; Special Adviser to the President and Secretary of State for the Balkans; Ambassador to the European Community; Clinton administration's Special Envoy for Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo; Bush administration's first Special Envoy for Afghanistan; Bush administration's representative to the Afghan opposition in the wake of September 11, 2001 He met a Norwegian model, Toril Kleivdal. They married in 1968. She died in 2012. Along with his sons, Christian and Colin, Mr. Dobbins is survived by his brothers, Peter and Andrew; his sisters, Victoria Dobbins and Elizabeth Fuller; and two grandchildren.