Bernard W. Aronson

Bernard W. Aronson served four U.S. Presidents in senior positions. He was twice awarded the State Department's highest civilian honor, the Secretary's Distinguished Service Award, for his role in ending the wars in Central America and Colombia. In April 1993 Aronson was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by Secretary of State Warren Christopher for "singular achievements in forging a bipartisan policy towards Nicaragua and tireless and successful efforts end the civil war in El Salvador. In November 2016 as U.S. Special Envoy to the Colombia Peace Process, Aronson was presented the Distinguished Service Award by Secretary of State John Kerry for "his instrumental role" in ending the 52 year long war between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In his remarks at the February 4, 2016 White House celebration of the 15th anniversary of Plan Colombia, President Barack Obama said, "I especially want to recognize someone who's played a pivotal role in the peace process. That's our Special Envoy, Bernie Aronson."

Bernard W. Aronson was born in May 1946, the son of Annette and Arnold Aronson. His father was a founder of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.[3] Bernard was educated at the University of Chicago, receiving his B.A. in 1967. He served in the United States Army Reserve. While serving at the United Mine Workers (1973 to 1977), Aronson led a 13 month long organizing campaign in Harlan County, Kentucky. Aronson appears twice in the Academy Award-winning documentary Harlan County, U.S.A., which chronicles the strike.

Aronson worked at the White House from 1977 to 1981 as Special Assistant and Speechwriter to Vice President of the United States Walter Mondale, Executive Speechwriter to President of the United States Jimmy Carter, and Deputy Assistant to the President in the Office of the Chief of Staff. In 1981, he became director of policy of the Democratic National Committee. From 1984 to 1988, he was president of the Policy Project. Aronson was appointed by Republican President of the United States George H. W. Bush as a Democrat to pursue a bipartisan policy as Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (1989 - 1993),[4] succeeding Elliott Abrams. Aronson was the author of the Bipartisan Accord on Central America which the leaders of Congress and President Bush[5] signed on March 24, 1989. The Accord unified all factions in the U.S. Congress and the Bush Administration behind a common policy to support the Central American Peace Plan authored by Nobel Peace Prize laureate, President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica. Aronson's first official trip as Assistant Secretary was to Moscow to enlist the Soviet Union in supporting democratic elections and an end to the wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Aronson left government service in 1993, joining Goldman Sachs as an International Advisor for Latin America. In 1996, he founded his own private equity company, ACON Investments, serving as its Founding Partner. He has also served on the board of directors of Mariner Energy, Liz Claiborne, Royal Caribbean International, The Amazon Conservation Team, Global Hyatt, Kate Spade, Lindland Expeditions Inc., and founding board member of the Center for Global Development. Aronson is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomacy.[6]

Aronson is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue[7] and also serves on the board of directors of the National Democratic Institute.[8]

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• Appearances on C-SPAN