Alex T. Johnson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chief of Staff, U.S. Helsinki Commission | |
| In office February 2019 –January 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Kyle Parker |
| Succeeded by | Dr. Mischa E. Thompson (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alex Thomas Johnson |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Oregon State University (BS,MPP) |
Alex Thomas Johnson was the first African-American chief of staff of the U.S. Helsinki Commission since its establishment in 1976. [1]
Alex T. Johnson,originally from Portland,holds a BS in natural resources then an MPP in 2006 both from Oregon State University. [2]
Alex T. Johnson focuses on Inclusive Foreign Policy and Transatlantic Security. [3] He was appointed in 2019 by U.S. Representative Hastings and greeted upon his commitment and dedication to Human Rights:
“I am pleased to welcome Alex Johnson back to the Helsinki Commission ... His broad range of experience—including several years at the U.S. Mission to the OSCE in Vienna—and deep understanding of issues related to fundamental freedoms and human security in North America, Europe, and Central Asia will keep the commission at the vanguard of regional policymaking.”
Johnson was the Policy Advisor of the OSCE from November 2007 to September 2015 in Vienna. [5] Then he moved to Open Society Foundations in Washington, D.C. in the position of Senior Policy Advisor for Europe and Eurasia. [6] He is also a former Obama Administration appointee at the Department of Defense, serving as Special Advisor for Russia/Ukraine External Affairs in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Policy) from October 2015 to January 2017. [7] He was among the founders of the Transatlantic Democracy Platform aimed at countering erosion of democratic institutions in Central Europe and related security implications for the NATO. [8] Part of his mission was International Elections Observations in Azerbaijan in 2010, Albania in 2009 and 2013, the 2011 Constituent Assembly election in Tunisia, Turkey in 2015 and Ukraine in 2010 and 2015 [9] [10]
He was a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation fellow in the office of U.S. Representative Alcee L. Hastings and a consultant for local government initiatives in Portland, Oregon. [11]
In January 2021, Johnson returned to the Open Society Foundations taking a role in their Eurasia Program.
For his accomplishments and work, he was nominated in 2019 an Aspen Ideas Festival fellow. [12] During the celebrations of Juneteenth in 2020, Alex T. Johnson was among the Black National Security and Foreign Policy community celebrated in the Diversity in National Security Network's Black Voices campaign by Senior Brookings Fellow Amanda Sloat and Amb. Barbara A. Leaf. [13] He is a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations. [14]
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the promotion of human rights, freedom of the press, and free and fair elections. It employs around 3,460 people, mostly in its field operations but also in its secretariat in Vienna, Austria, and its institutions. It has observer status at the United Nations.
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The Helsinki Final Act, also known as Helsinki Accords or Helsinki Declaration was the document signed at the closing meeting of the third phase of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki, Finland, between 30 July and 1 August 1975, following two years of negotiations known as the Helsinki Process. All then-existing European countries except Andorra and Hoxhaist Albania, as well as the United States and Canada, signed the Final Act in an attempt to improve the détente between the East and the West. The Helsinki Accords, however, were not binding as they did not have treaty status that would have to be ratified by parliaments. Sometimes the term "Helsinki pact(s)" was also used unofficially.
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, is an independent U.S. government agency created by Congress in 1975 to monitor and encourage compliance with the Helsinki Final Act and other Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) commitments. It was initiated by House representative Millicent Fenwick and established in 1975 pursuant to Public Law No. 94-304 and is based at the Ford House Office Building.
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The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was a key element of the détente process during the Cold War. Although it did not have the force of a treaty, it recognized the boundaries of postwar Europe and established a mechanism for minimizing political and military tensions between East and West and improving human rights in the Communist Bloc. The first phase was the Meeting of Foreign Ministers in Helsinki in 1973, the second negotiations held in Geneva from 1973 to 1975, and the third the Helsinki summit in 1975. The final document was signed in Helsinki, Finland on August 1, 1975, by 33 European nations, the United States and Canada. It is often called the Helsinki Agreement. In 1994, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was established as a successor to CSCE.
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