Ronald N. Weiser
b. 1945, Indiana -
“American diplomacy is central to the United States’ maintaining peace and prosperity abroad, which leads to prosperity and freedom at home. Economic progress for Americans is intertwined with the economies of other countries, which results in trade and increases the likelihood of maintaining world peace. As a result, diplomacy helps ensure American security and prosperity. What could be more important?”
Service History
US Ambassador to Slovakia, 2001 – 2004
Biography
In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Ronald N. Weiser ambassador to the Slovak Republic (Slovakia). He served as ambassador immediately after the September 11th, 2001, attacks until the end of 2004. While at post, Weiser visited all 138 Slovak cities to help further the relationship between the United States and Slovakia. He guided Slovakia's membership into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and subsequently into the European Union, which helped ensure Slovakia’s long-term commitment to democracy and our shared values.
For his work in furthering the Slovak economic and political relationship with the United States, Weiser received The White Double Cross—the highest award given to non-Slovaks—in 2004 from Slovak President Rudolph Schuster. He was also honored with the Cultural Pluralism Award from the US Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad for the restoration of the Jewish cemetery in Zakopane, Poland, and the medieval Trencil Castle, one of Slovakia's most cherished sites.
Accompanied by his wife, Eileen, and their infant son, Ambassador Weiser’s term of service with the State Department had—and continues to have—a huge impact on their lives. When they returned to their home and family in Ann Arbor, Michigan, it was with a new set of eyes. Their experience allowed them to see the impact an individual can have on the global picture. It expanded their horizons on the possibilities they had at home. His experiences in Slovakia inspired him to work closely with the faculty and leadership at the University of Michigan (their alma mater) to establish the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia and the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, which studies how democracies emerge and the conditions necessary for assuring and extending political, social, and economic freedoms. In 2019, Ambassador Weiser and the University of Michigan launched The Weiser Diplomacy Center for the study and practice of diplomacy and hosted a series of top leaders in foreign affairs, including former US Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Rodham Clinton.