Derek Shearer

Derek Shearer is Chevalier Professor of Diplomacy and World Affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles, and serves as Director of the McKinnon Center for Global Affairs. Shearer served in the Clinton administration as an economics official in the Commerce Department, and then as Ambassador to Finland (1994-97). Among his many accomplishments were the creation of the administration’s coordinated strategy to the Nordic-Baltic region and the hosting of the Clinton-Yeltsin summit in Helsinki. At Ambassador Shearer’s recommendation during the presidential campaign, President Clinton established the National Economic Council in the White House. Additionally, he was a co-author of the Clinton-Gore campaign program ‘Putting People First’. Ambassador Shearer served as a foreign policy advisor to Vice President Gore during the 2000 Presidential campaign and to Senator Hillary Clinton in 2008. His articles on foreign affairs and public policy have appeared in the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, and many weekly and monthly publications. Ambassador Shearer also is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post.