James Steinberg

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title: "James Steinberg" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1953-births", "american-diplomats", "american-foreign-policy-writers", "american-male-non-fiction-writers", "clinton-administration-personnel", "directors-of-policy-planning", "living-people", "harvard-college-alumni", "jewish-american-government-officials", "obama-administration-personnel", "phillips-academy-alumni", "johns-hopkins-university-faculty", "syracuse-university-faculty", "united-states-deputy-secretaries-of-state", "university-of-texas-at-austin-faculty", "yale-law-school-alumni", "united-states-deputy-national-security-advisors", "diplomats-from-boston"] description: "American academic administrator and diplomat (born 1953)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Steinberg" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American academic administrator and diplomat (born 1953) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	James Steinberg
image	Jim Steinberg.jpg
office	10th Dean of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
term_start	November 1, 2021
predecessor	Eliot Cohen
office1	16th United States Deputy Secretary of State
president1	Barack Obama
term_start1	January 29, 2009
term_end1	July 28, 2011
predecessor1	John Negroponte
successor1	William J. Burns
office2	20th United States Deputy National Security Advisor
president2	Bill Clinton
term_start2	December 23, 1996
term_end2	August 1, 2000
predecessor2	Sandy Berger
successor2	Stephen Hadley
office3	18th Director of Policy Planning
president3	Bill Clinton
term_start3	March 21, 1994
term_end3	December 23, 1996
predecessor3	Samuel W. Lewis
successor3	Gregory B. Craig
birth_name	James Braidy Steinberg
birth_date
birth_place	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
party	Democratic
spouse	Sherburne Abbott
children	2
education	Harvard University (BA)
Yale University (JD)
caption	Official portrait, 2021
::

| name = James Steinberg | image = Jim Steinberg.jpg | office = 10th Dean of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies | term_start = November 1, 2021 | term_end = | predecessor = Eliot Cohen | successor = | office1 = 16th United States Deputy Secretary of State | president1 = Barack Obama | term_start1 = January 29, 2009 | term_end1 = July 28, 2011 | predecessor1 = John Negroponte | successor1 = William J. Burns | office2 = 20th United States Deputy National Security Advisor | president2 = Bill Clinton | term_start2 = December 23, 1996 | term_end2 = August 1, 2000 | predecessor2 = Sandy Berger | successor2 = Stephen Hadley | office3 = 18th Director of Policy Planning | president3 = Bill Clinton | term_start3 = March 21, 1994 | term_end3 = December 23, 1996 | predecessor3 = Samuel W. Lewis | successor3 = Gregory B. Craig | birth_name = James Braidy Steinberg | birth_date = | birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Democratic | spouse = Sherburne Abbott | children = 2 | education = Harvard University (BA) Yale University (JD) | caption = Official portrait, 2021 James Braidy Steinberg (born May 7, 1953) is an American academic administrator and former diplomat, who served as the 16th United States deputy secretary of state during the Obama administration. He has been the dean of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University since November 1, 2021. Previously he was a professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Biography

Early career

Steinberg was born to a Jewish family in Boston, Massachusetts. He was educated at Phillips Academy (1970), Harvard College (1973), and Yale Law School (1978). His previous positions included a senior fellowship for US Strategic Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, UK (1985–1987), and senior analyst at RAND Corporation (1989–1993). Steinberg also served as a Senior Advisor to the Markle Foundation (2000–2001) and was a member of the Markle Task Force on National Security in the Information Age.

Early campaign work

During the national elections which brought President Jimmy Carter into office, Steinberg worked on the presidential campaign of the Carter-Mondale ticket. He also worked as a foreign policy advisor for Michael Dukakis's 1988 campaign.

Clinton administration

Steinberg served as the U.S. State Department's director of policy planning (1994–1996), then as deputy national security advisor (December 1996–2001) to President Bill Clinton. He also served on the Project on National Security Reform's Guiding Coalition.

Brookings Institution director and Lyndon B. Johnson School dean

After serving in the Clinton administration, Steinberg was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and the institution's vice president and director of foreign policy studies (2001–2005). Steinberg was then dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin (2006–2009) until his appointment as deputy secretary of state on January 28, 2009, taking a leave of absence from the school for the duration of his term in office.

Obama administration

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/James_Steinberg_and_Yukio_Edano_20110127.jpg" caption="with [[Yukio Edano]] (January 27, 2011)"] ::

According to The Wall Street Journal, Steinberg, along with Daniel C. Kurtzer and Dennis Ross, were among the principal authors of Barack Obama’s address on the Middle East to AIPAC in June 2008, which was viewed as the Democratic Party nominee’s most expansive on international affairs.

He was mentioned as being "at the top" of Obama's list of candidates for the post of national security advisor, but Andrea Mitchell reported on November 24, 2008, that Hillary Clinton would appoint Steinberg deputy secretary of state. On December 23, 2008, Steinberg himself confirmed the appointment in a letter addressed to students and faculty at the Johnson School.

As deputy secretary of state and principal deputy to secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Steinberg notably coined the phrase "strategic reassurance" to describe China–United States relations suggestive of the idea that the United States should reassure China about welcoming China's rise while China would reassure the US and its neighbors that it would not conflict with their interests.

In October 2010, Steinberg met with Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, in Washington, D.C., where they discussed how to improve regional security and stability through boosting and growing the already strong cooperation between their two nations. During the talks, both delegates expressed their commitment to a lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors and their grave concern regarding Iran’s continued non-compliance with its international obligations through pursuit of a military nuclear program.

The following spring, they met in Jerusalem where they again took advantage of the opportunity to work together to identify and strategize against the threats both countries face including the rapidly changing political situation in the Middle East and the ongoing Iranian nuclear program.

Post-Obama administration

In March 2011, Steinberg was named dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. On July 28, 2011, he resigned as deputy secretary of state and assumed his new position. His term as dean ended in 2016.

In November 2021, Steinberg was named the tenth dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS.

Steinberg is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He also serves as senior counselor at Albright Stonebridge Group.

On January 14, 2024, a U.S. delegation composed of Steinberg and Stephen J. Hadley arrived in Taipei in the aftermath of Taiwan's 2024 presidential election.

Publications

Articles

• The Perils of Estrangement (in What Does America Want From China?), Foreign Affairs, May 30, 2024 (co-authored with Jessica Chen Weiss)

Personal life

He is married to Sherburne B. Abbott, vice president for sustainability initiatives and University Professor of Sustainability Science and Policy at Syracuse University. They have two daughters, Jenna and Emma.

Bibliography

References

References

1. Date & year of birth according to LCNAF [[Cataloging in Publication. CIP]] data.
2. [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/James_Steinberg.html Jewish Virtual Library: "James B. Steinberg"] retrieved October 26, 2013.
3. (September 22, 2009). "Andover Bulletin - Spring 2009 by Phillips Academy".
4. Mazzetti, Mark. (November 8, 2008). "James B. Steinberg". The New York Times.
5. [https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/119494.htm US Department of State biography for James B. Steinberg, accessed March 16, 2011] {{webarchive. link. (March 10, 2011)
6. [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121358442119676435 Obama's Mideast Experts Emphasize Talks], Jay Solomon, [[The Wall Street Journal]], June 16, 2008; p. A7.
7. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06web-cooper.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Want a Security Post? Say Nothing.], Helene Cooper, New York Times, November 6, 2008
8. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717060339/http://thepage.time.com/2008/11/24/morning-show-summary-133/?xid=rss-page Morning Show Summary.], Mark Halperin, The Page, November 24, 2008
9. Smith, Ben. (December 23, 2008). "Steinberg confirms appointment". [[Politico]].
10. Currie, Kelley. (October 22, 2009). "The Doctrine of 'Strategic Reassurance'". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
11. Rogin, Josh. (November 6, 2009). "The end of the concept of "strategic reassurance"?". [[Foreign Policy]].
12. "Joint Statement on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Dialogue". U.S. Department of State.
13. "Israel-U.S. Strategic Dialogue".
14. Rogin, Josh. (March 30, 2011). "Steinberg leaving State, Burns moves up". [[Foreign Policy]].
15. (September 1, 2015). "Steinberg to Conclude Tenure as Maxwell Dean Following 2015-16 Academic Year". SU News.
16. (May 1, 2016). "Maxwell faculty differ in view about James Steinberg's tenure as dean". [[The Daily Orange]].
17. "Hopkins taps Clinton advisor for new SAIS dean".
18. "News | Albright Stonebridge Group".
19. AIT. (2024-01-14). "U.S. Delegation Travel to Taiwan".
20. (2024-05-30). "What Does America Want From China?". Foreign Affairs.
21. (March 30, 2011). "Sherburne Abbott appointed Syracuse University's vice president for sustainability initiatives and University Professor of Sustainability Science & Policy".
22. (May 2022). "Biographies | Sustainability".

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