Edward P. Joseph

Edward P. Joseph is a non-profit leader, as well as a foreign policy analyst and field practitioner specializing in conflict management.

In his dozen years in the Balkans, Edward served during the wars in each conflict afflicted country (Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo and Macedonia.) He has been deployed on shorter missions as well in Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Field highlights include:

Bosnia: In July, 1995 – contemporaneous with the massacres in neighboring Srebrenica – Edward and one UN colleague coordinated the evacuation of the fallen ‘safe area’ of Zepa. This required face-to-face dealings with Serb commander Ratko Mladic and his high command. Edward’s testimony at the Hague Tribunal has been cited as instrumental in a landmark war crimes verdict.

Kosovo: In April, 2012, as the US-nominated Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, one of the largest democracy and human rights missions in the world, Edward negotiated an end to a rapidly brewing, potentially violent confrontation between Belgrade and Pristina. His eleventh-hour role was cited by Secretary of State Clinton and OSCE Secretary-General Zannier.

Pakistan: In Peshawar on December 27th, 2007, Edward held the last international meeting with Benazir Bhutto, an intensive, 90-minute discussion on her anxieties about upcoming elections.

Afghanistan: In 2008-9, Edward was part of a three-person expert team that evaluated USAID’s largest program. The mission took the team to the country’s four corners, including Kandahar.

Haiti: Over 2005-6, Edward led the USAID-funded election observation mission; after the devastating earthquake in 2010, Edward led InterAction’s unique NGO coordination mission.

A foreign policy analyst, Edward has been published in virtually all major outlets, including Foreign Affairs. His article, “The Balkans, Interrupted” was selected as one of “The Best of 2015.”

Edward led the Executive Director of the Institute of Current World Affairs in Washington – the first outside (non-alumnus) leader of the foundation in its nearly century of existence. He is currently Executive Director of the National Council on US-Libya Relations.

Edward earned his J.D. at the University of Virginia School of Law, and his B.A. and M.A., respectively, from Johns Hopkins University, and its School of Advanced International Studies (where he teaches.) Trained as a helicopter pilot in the Army Reserve, Edward is a veteran, deployed with NATO in Bosnia. He speaks Croatian / Serbian, and French, Italian and Spanish.