Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann is President of the American Academy of Diplomacy, an organization of former senior diplomats dedicated to strengthening American diplomacy. Formerly a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle East, Neumann served three times as Ambassador; to Algeria, Bahrain and finally to Afghanistan from July 2005 to April 2007. Much of his early career focused on the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula including service in Iraq (2004-05), working extensively with the military.

Since his service in Afghanistan, he has returned there frequently and writes and speaks extensively on the subject. He has authored a book on his time in Afghanistan titled The Other War: Winning and Losing in Afghanistan, as well as wrote Three Embassies, Four Wars; A Personal Memoir. In earlier postings, he served as Director of the Office for Iran and Iraq, Deputy Chief of Mission in the United Arab Emirates, and in Yemen, and Principal Officer in Tabriz, Iran. In 2018, he received the American Foreign Service Association’s award for Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy. He serves on the advisory boards of Spirit of America, Friends of the American University of Afghanistan, and SOLA, an Afghan girls boarding school. He holds a B.A. in history and an M.A. in political science and was an infantry officer in Vietnam (’69-70).

He is married to the former M. Elaine Grimm. They have two children.