East-West Center Welcomes New Diplomat-In-Residence

HONOLULU (Sept. 4) – Jonathan Henick, a 15-year veteran of the State Department’s Foreign Service, has joined the East-West Center for a one-year post as a visiting research fellow and diplomat-in-residence. Henick will be at the Center through the end of July, 2009, at which time he will assume the post of Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S.Embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste (East Timor).

Mr. Henick most recently served as the Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he was the embassy spokesperson and was responsible for all cultural, educational, civil-society and English-language programs.

Prior to that, he served as the senior Political Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, from 2002 to 2005, as the Adviser to the U.S. Special Negotiator for Nagorno-Karabakh from 1999 to 2001, and as the Iraq desk officer at the U.S. Department of State in 1999.  He also previously served as Political/Economic Officer in Lisbon, Portugal, and as a Consular and Administrative officer in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Mr. Henick received the 2008 Award for Achievement in Public Diplomacy granted by the Public Diplomacy Alumni Association, and he has also received three individual Superior Honor Awards from the State Department.

Originally from New York, he speaks Russian, Portuguese, Turkish, and Azerbaijani, and holds a Master's degree in International Affairs from Columbia University. While at the East-West Center, he will be researching the impact of religion on statecraft and diplomacy.

Jonathan Henick can be reached at +1 (808) 944-7247 or via email at henickj@eastwestcenter.org.


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The EAST-WEST CENTER is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. The Center contributes to a peaceful, prosperous and just Asia Pacific community by serving as a vigorous hub for cooperative research, education and dialogue on critical issues of common concern to the Asia Pacific region and the United States. Funding for the Center comes from the U.S. government, with additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and the governments of the region.