Annie Pforzheimer

Annie Pforzheimer is a non-resident associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She is currently an adjunct professor at the City University of New York and a commentator and advocate on foreign policy matters. A retired career diplomat with the personal rank of minister counselor, Annie was the acting deputy assistant secretary of state for Afghanistan until March 2019, and from 2017 to 2018 was the deputy chief of mission in Kabul. With a focus on security, rule of law, and human rights during a 30-year career in the Foreign Service, Annie directed the implementation of the 2014 U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America at the National Security Council; the Office of Andean Affairs in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs during Colombia’s peace process and the emerging Venezuela crisis (2015–2017); and the Bureau of International Organization Affairs’ Office of Peace Support Operations, Sanctions, and Counterterrorism. She led the $1 billion rule of law program (the Mérida Initiative) in Mexico and was the political counselor at the U.S. Embassies in Afghanistan and El Salvador. She is a graduate of Harvard University and holds an MA in security studies from the National War College.