James W. Pardew

James William Pardew Jr. (February 5, 1944 – June 2, 2021) was an American diplomat, international negotiator, military officer, and United States Ambassador to Bulgaria. After serving as a military intelligence officer in the United States Army for 28 years, Pardew entered the arena of international diplomacy with a heavy focus on the Balkans, where he was instrumental in coordinating agreements and peace resolutions, as well as heading major State Department programs such as the Bosnian Train-and-equip program.

Personal life and education

Pardew was born in Memphis, Tennessee on February 5, 1944, and was raised in Jonesboro, Arkansas. He graduated from Nettleton High School in 1962 and attended Arkansas State University, where he was a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps. While attending ASU, he edited the student newspaper and yearbook, was active in student government, and president of the local Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He graduated in 1966 with a B.S. in journalism and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army shortly afterward. Pardew later graduated from Loyola University with an M.A. in political science in 1973 and the U.S. Army War College. Pardew died on June 2, 2021, at the age of 77 in Arlington, Virginia.

Military service

Pardew received an ROTC commission in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. In Vietnam, he served in the 1st Air Cavalry Division and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment as an intelligence officer. During his career, he saw assignments in Turkey, Germany, Japan, and Somalia, where he took part in Operation Restore Hope. On the Army General staff in the Pentagon, Pardew held positions as Director of Foreign Intelligence and Chief of Current Intelligence. Pardew participated in the negotiating process led by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke from his appointment until the parties reached an agreement at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio in November 1995. He participated in the international signing ceremony of the Dayton Agreement, hosted by President Jacques Chirac of France in Paris on December 14, 1995, as the representative of the Secretary of Defense. Pardew was awarded the Department of State Distinguished Honor Award and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service for his contributions to peace in Bosnia.

Bosnia Train and Equip Program Pardew was assigned to direct an inter-agency team in Washington in 1996 to implement an informal agreement between U.S. President Bill Clinton and Bosnian President Alija Izetbegović to assist the Bosnian Federation in developing a national defense system which would provide military security within Bosnia.

U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria President George W. Bush appointed Pardew the U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria in 2002. During his tenure as the United States Ambassador to Bulgaria The President of Bulgaria presented Pardew with the Stara Planina Medal at the end of his service in Bulgaria.

NATO: Afghanistan, Iraq, and the independence of Kosovo Pardew was Deputy Assistant Secretary General of NATO for Operation and Crisis Management, from 2005 to 2008. During that period, he directed an international staff organization, based in Brussels, that was engaged in operational policy development for the Secretary General of NATO for its operations in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and the NATO training mission in Iraq.

Based on his extensive background in Balkan conflicts, Pardew also participated as the NATO representative to the Contact Group deliberations, dealing with international policy toward Kosovo. He also provided NATO input to the United Nations organization which produced the Ahtisaari Plan, eventually resulting in the independence of Kosovo.

Publications

Peacemakers: American Leadership and the End of Genocide in the Balkans. Guest writer for "The Hill"