Richard Fairbanks

Ambassador Richard Fairbanks is the founder and chairman of the Board of Layalina Productions, Inc. He is also a counselor and trustee at CSIS, where he was previously president and CEO. During the Reagan administration, Ambassador Fairbanks served as assistant secretary of state, special negotiator for the Middle East peace process, and ambassador-at-large. He was also associate director of the White House Domestic Counsel for Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources under President Nixon. Ambassador Fairbanks was a founding partner of Ruckleshaus, Beveridge, Fairbanks & Diamond (now Beveridge and Diamond, P.C.) A former adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, he is currently a visiting professor at the University of Miami (Florida). He received his A.B. from Yale University and his J.D. magna cum laude from Columbia University School of Law. Ambassador Fairbanks serves on the Board of Directors of SEACOR Holdings, Inc. (formerly SEACOR SMIT) and the GATX Corporation. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Council of American Ambassadors.