Esther Brimmer

Esther Brimmer
Born	1961
Occupation(s)	Foreign policy expert, academic, government official
Years active	1991–present
Known for	Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (2009–2013)

Esther Diane Brimmer (b. 1961) is a distinguished American expert in foreign policy who previously held the position of Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs. She occupied this post from April 2009 until June 2013, after which she transitioned back to academic pursuits.

Between October 2013 and January 2017, Brimmer was appointed as the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of International Affairs at the George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. In January 2017, she assumed the role of executive director and CEO at NAFSA, a prominent institution dedicated to international education.

Education

Brimmer completed her undergraduate studies with a B.A. in International Relations at Pomona College in Claremont, California. She further attained both an M.A. and a D.Phil. in International Relations from New College, Oxford in the United Kingdom. In recognition of her accomplishments, Pomona College awarded her an honorary doctorate in 2019. Additionally, she graduated from the National Cathedral School for Girls in 1979.

Career

Throughout her career, Brimmer has occupied key positions within the United States government and the field of international affairs. From 1999 to 2001, she contributed as a Member of the Office of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State, where her responsibilities included matters related to the European Union, Western Europe, the United Nations, and multilateral security issues. Prior to this, between 1995 and 1999, she served as a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict, overseeing various projects. Earlier roles include Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 1993 to 1995 and Legislative Analyst at the Democratic Study Group within the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 1993. Following her studies at Oxford, she gained experience as a management consultant with McKinsey.

Starting in September 2005, Brimmer was a visiting professor at the College of Europe. President Barack Obama nominated her for Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs on March 11, 2009; she received Senate confirmation on April 2, 2009. Before this appointment, she held the positions of Deputy Director and Director of Research at the Center for Transatlantic Relations within the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, located in Washington, D.C.

Brimmer holds board membership at the Atlantic Council and participates actively in both the Council on Foreign Relations and Women in International Security. She departed from her role at the State Department in June 2013 to reengage with academic work.

Personal life

Esther Brimmer is the daughter of Andrew Brimmer, notable as the first African American governor of the Federal Reserve System. She is married to historian and writer Steven Beller. Together they have one son, Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller, who is a playwright.

Publications

Her body of work includes editing volumes such as Transforming Homeland Security: U.S. and European Approaches (2006), The Strategic Implications of European Union Enlargement (co-edited with Fröhlich, 2005), The EU’s Search for a Strategic Role: ESDP and Its Implications for Transatlantic Relations (2002), and The European Union Constitutional Treaty: A Guide for Americans (2004). She also authored The United States, the European Union and International Human Rights Issues (2002).