Robert Patrick John Finn (born December 19, 1945) was the first United States ambassador to Afghanistan in more than 20 years, from March 22, 2002 until November 27, 2003. He was succeeded by Zalmay Khalilzad.
Finn grew up in the Parkchester planned community in the Bronx, in New York City[1] and earned a B.A. in American Literature and European History with honors from St. John's University, an M.A. in Near Eastern Studies from New York University and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University in 1978. He currently holds a professorship there in Turkic studies and international relations. He speaks fifteen languages, including all the Central Asian tongues. Finn was a member of the Foreign Service from 1978 to 8/2005. In 1992, he opened (as chargé d'affaires) the United States embassy to Azerbaijan and served as charge and deputy chief of mission there for three years. He also served as the U.S. ambassador to Tajikistan from 1998 through 2001. He has also served in Turkey, Croatia and Pakistan.
He is the author of The Early Turkish Novel, 1872-1900 (Isis Press, 1984), translator of Turkish author Nazli Eray's novel Orpheus (University of Texas at Austin, 2006) and co-editor (with Wolfgang F. Danspeckgruber) of Building State and Security in Afghanistan (Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, 2007).
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by First Ambassador |
United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan (Charge d'affaires ad interim) 1992 |
Succeeded by Richard Miles |
| Preceded by R. Grant Smith |
United States Ambassador to Tajikistan 1998–2001 |
Succeeded by Franklin Huddle |
| Preceded by Adolph Dubs (Assassinated in 1979) Ryan C. Crocker (Charge d'affaires) |
United States Ambassador to Afghanistan 2002–2003 |
Succeeded by Zalmay Khalilzad |