Ambassador Ronald F. Lehman visits UNL, Discusses Arms Negotiations

Photo Credit: Dr. White, Ambassador Lehman, and UNL senior Oliver Tonkin
by Sarah Wagelie Thu, 11/06/2014 - 13:17

US Ambassador and Chief Negotiator on Strategic Offensive Arms Ronald F. Lehman II visited UNL on Thursday, November 6th, to share his experiences in high-level arms negotiations and discuss his views on the future of arms treaties.

While visiting Dr. Tyler R. White’s National Security (NSST 175) course, Ambassador Lehman discussed a wide variety of topics from the evolution of nuclear forces to consequence management in many of the hot spots throughout the word including Russia/Ukraine and India/Pakistan. Ambassador Lehman shared some of his accounts of high-level negotiations with his Russian counterparts that led to the START I treaty, as well as his pivotal role in nuclear arms reductions both during and after the Cold War. Ambassador Lehman’s visit was facilitated through UNL’s cooperation with USSTRATCOM and the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI).

Currently Ambassador Ronald F. Lehman is the Counselor to the Director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Lehman was Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency from 1989 to 1993, when START I, START II, the Chemical Weapons Convention, Conventional Forces in Europe, Open Skies, and other historic agreements where concluded. Previously, he served in the U.S. Department of Defense as Assistant Secretary for International Security Policy, in the State Department as Ambassador and U.S. Chief Negotiator on Strategic Offensive Arms (START I), and in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.