Michael Kozak

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Michael Kozak
United States Ambassador to Belarus
In office
September 15, 2000 – August 8, 2003
PresidentBill Clinton
George W. Bush
Preceded byDaniel V. Speckhard
Succeeded byGeorge A. Krol
Personal details
Born (1946-09-18) September 18, 1946 (age 77)
J.D.
)
OccupationAttorney, diplomat

Michael G. Kozak (born September 18, 1946)

U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador in 1991.[4][5][6] He achieved a measure of prominence in the 1980s for his attempts to negotiate with Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega to leave power.[6]

Kozak is a civil service employee of the U.S. State Department and charter member of the Senior Executive Service.[5] He has been described as a problem solver with practical solutions, who is "not prone to ideological diatribes."[7] He also been called "an outgoing, let's roll-up-our-sleeves kind of guy with a square boxer's body and face"[8] and "pugnacious."[9]

Diplomatic work

1970s international negotiation and mediation

During the 1970s, Kozak served as a negotiator on the

Egypt-Israel peace treaty and sought a solution to the Lebanese Civil War.[10]

Cuba

In the 1980s, Kozak was heavily involved in Cuba issues at the State Department, in its American Republic Affairs unit.

In April 1980, as the State Department determined its policies toward the Mariel boatlift of Cuban refugees to the United States, and formulated its statements on possible prosecution of Cuban Americans and hired ships bringing family members from Cuba to the United States, Kozak wrote a memo outlining various options for dealing with migration of Cuban refugees.[11] The memo included points that could be used to justify a decision to prohibit entry.[11] Kozak noted that prosecutions for bringing Cubans to the United States in the past were rare, and that unless the government were prepared to demonstrate its willingness to do so, Cuban Americans would assume there was no serious risk in participating in the boatlift.[11]

In 1980 and 1981, Kozak was part of a State Department team meeting with Cuban officials over migration and other issues.[7]

Between 1982 and 1988, Kozak became a principal deputy assistant secretary of state level official in the

Office of the Legal Advisor.[5]

In 1984, Kozak was the legal advisor in the State Department's delegation that met at a

Foreign Minister Ricardo Alarcón.[7]

Legal recourse against terrorism attacks

While working as principal deputy legal advisor, Kozak originated an idea to settle a dispute between the U.S. government and the

Chilean government over the killing of a former Chilean diplomat in exile in the United States, Orlando Letelier, and his American assistant Ronni Moffit in a 1976 car bombing near Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C.[12] As Chile was unwilling to submit to a determination by a U.S. tribunal, Kozak proposed invoking the arbitration clause of the 1914 Chile-United States peace treaty, and Chile agreed.[12][13]

In October 1985, Kozak testified before the

Achille Lauro terrorist attack.[14]

Panama and Noriega and Central America

Between 1988 and 1991, Kozak held a principal deputy assistant secretary of state role in the

Bureau of Inter-American Affairs.[10]

In 1988, Kozak was a special presidential envoy who "achieved prominence ... when he led an unsuccessful effort to persuade then-Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega to agree to a democratic transfer of power" prior to the U.S. military deposing Noriega in December 1989.[6][10]

In early 1988, Kozak had been sent to Panama repeatedly to try to negotiate on behalf of the U.S. government directly with

Panamanian President Manuel Noriega, attempting to settle on terms under which Noreiga would step down.[15][16] Kozak argued for a diplomatic arrangement under which indictment against Noriega would be quashed, sanctions would be lifted, and Noriega would step down and leave the country by August 1988.[15]

After word leaked, the Senate passed a

Sense of the Senate measure that the indictment should not be dropped, and Vice President George H. W. Bush denounced the negotiations.[16] Kozak continued with the talks and delivered an ultimatum for Noreiga to agree to by May 25, 1988, but Noriega refused and the U.S. military eventually invaded the country.[16]

In March 1989, as acting Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, Kozak advocated before Congress for funding for diplomatic efforts in Latin America.

Secretary of State James Baker implement a bipartisan agreement on Central America designed to help end the conflict in Nicaragua.[10][5]

In 1989, as principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Inter-American Affairs, working with

Bernard Aronson, Kozak argued before a House hearing that relations with Cuba should not improve until the Castro regime made concessions to the United States on a variety of concerns.[15]

The next year, Kozak was instrumental in promoting

Panamanian Defense Forces for civil law enforcement work after the overthrow of Manuel Noriega, with mixed results.[18]

U.S. ambassador to El Salvador nomination

In April 1991, Kozak was nominated to be

Contra situation in Nicaragua.[8]

Chief of Mission in Cuba

In 1996, Kozak, as the new chief of the

Cuban Ministry of the Interior when requesting their information on a group allegedly financed by Cuban Americans that attempted attacks in Cuba.[20]

Haiti

In March 1993, Kozak was a deputy to U.S. Special Advisor

Haitian military, the UN, and the White House.[8][10]

During meetings with cabinet ministers in Haiti, Kozak would coax them into taking action.[8] He also pushed officials with the United Nations Mission in Haiti to move against human rights violators.[8]

In September 1994, Kozak accompanied General

Raoul Cedras, to leave power.[21]

U.S. ambassador to Belarus

On April 6, 2000, President Bill Clinton announced his intention to nominate Kozak to be U.S. Ambassador to Belarus.[22] President Alexander Lukashenko made Kozak wait several months before arranging for Kozak to present his credentials for official recognition as ambassador.[23]

In 2001, Kozak and Hans Georg Vik, the head of

central election commission controlled by President Lukashenko declared him the winner with 75.6 percent of the vote, a result contested as false and fraudulent by international bodies and other countries.[24][25]

In November 2002, Kozak spoke before a conference in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute and charged that Belarus President Lukashenko was illegally selling arms to the regime of Saddam Hussein.[4]

Human rights

Between 2003 and 2005, Kozak held a principal deputy assistant secretary of state role in the

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.[5]

Kozak delivers remarks on the release of the 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices at the Department of State at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on April 20, 2018.

In 2004, Kozak testified before the

Indian-Pakistani disputed area of Kashmir.[26]

Between 2005 and 2009, Kozak was a senior director on the

Carter administration.[5]

Between 2009 and 2017, Kozak was senior adviser to the

Defamation of Religions” that respected freedom of expression.[5]

Between October 2012 and May 2013, Kozak served as Acting

Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism, between Hannah Rosenthal and Ira Forman.[5][27]

Between September 2017 and September 2019, Kozak held the title of Senior Bureau Official for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.[5]

Personal

Kozak is of Czech ancestry.

Boalt Hall at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1971, where he was assistant managing editor of the California Law Review.[5]

He has been awarded the Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal in 2019.[28]

References

  1. ^ "Nomination of Michael G. Kozak To Be United States Ambassador to the Republic of El Salvador". The American Presidency Project. 2 October 1991. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Michael G. Kozak (1946– )". United States Department of State. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  3. ^ "Michael G. Kozak". Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  4. ^ a b Pincus, Walter (December 26, 2002). "Intelligence Predicts Hussein's Reaction to Attack". The Washington Post.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Kozak, Michael G." United States Department of State. 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d "Kozak Heading for El Salvador As Part of Diplomatic Shuffle". Associated Press. April 29, 1991.
  7. ^
    LCCN 2014013123
    . michael kozak.
  8. ^
    LCCN 2005029232
    .
  9. LCCN 2008036714
    .
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Kozak, Michael G." United States Department of State. November 23, 2004.
  11. ^
    LCCN 96042305
    .
  12. ^
    LCCN 3009036861
    . kozak.
  13. S2CID 249001496
    .
  14. ^ Overview of international maritime security. United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs. 1986.
  15. ^
    LCCN 92035247
    .
  16. ^
    LCCN 2011007782
    .
  17. ^ Foreign assistance legislation for fiscal years 1990-91. United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs. 1989. pp. iii, 6, 276.
  18. ISBN 1-58566-058-2
    .
  19. ^
    ISBN 978--1-4990-4821-6
    .
  20. LCCN 2002018304
    . kozak.
  21. LCCN 2003091156
    .
  22. ISBN 9780160508455
    .
  23. ^ Yefanov, Vladimir (2001). ""Lukashenko Receives Kozak's Credentials"". The Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press. Vol. 53 (translated ed.). p. 23.
  24. ^
    LCCN 2011013538
    .
  25. LCCN 2013050930
    .
  26. Committee on Government Reform
    . 2004. pp. 9, 13–18.
  27. ^ "Reports of anti-Semitism increase". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Associated Press. May 20, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  28. Rada BNR
    official website, 26 March 2019

External links

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Acting
Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs

2019–2021 		Succeeded byas Acting AS
Preceded by
United States Ambassador to Belarus

2000–2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism
(acting)
2012–2013 		Succeeded by
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