Professor Finn is recent past Ambassador to Afghanistan and 

currently the Ertegun Visiting Professor of Near East Studies           

“Afghanistan: Where Do We Stand?”

The first U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan in over 20 years will discuss the changes in Afghanistan since 9/11.  

Afghanistan was one of the poorest countries in the world before it was destroyed by 23 years of civil war. 

The worldwide effort to aid Afghanistan since 9/11 has brought a new government, the war on terrorism and a multi-

billiondollar program of assistance. Ambassador Finn will examine each of these and their effects on Afghanistan, how they 

have made changes, where movement is taking place and what are the needs of the future.

Finn served as the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan from March 2002 until August 2003. 

Previously, he had also been the Ertegun Professor at Princeton, following service as the U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan from 

1998 until July of 2001.  His other diplomatic postings include Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir in Turkey, Lahore in Pakistan and 

Zagreb, Croatia.  He opened the U.S. embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan in 1992. He has received numerous awards from the 

U.S. government, including one for heroism.  Ambassador Finn’s poems and translations have appeared in the United States, 

Turkey, France and Pakistan.  His book, The Early Turkish Novel, is published in both English and Turkish. He received his M.A. 

and Ph.D in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University.  He also was a Fulbright Scholar at Istanbul University.