John Edward Herbst (born August 12, 1952) is a retired American diplomat who was the United States Ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2000 to 2003 and United States Ambassador to Ukraine from September 2003 to May 2006. Education Herbst received a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1974 and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University (Medford, MA) in 1978. He also attended the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy. Herbst was married for 37 years until her death in 2014 to Nadezda Christoff Herbst; he has five children and five grandchildren. Career Herbst joined the United States Foreign Service in 1979. He has worked as a political counselor at the U.S. embassies in Tel Aviv, Moscow, and Riyadh. He has also worked as the Director of Regional Affairs in the Near East Bureau of the United States State Department, as Director of the Office of Independent States and Commonwealth Affairs, as Principal Deputy to the Ambassador-at-large for the Newly Independent States, and as U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem. He was appointed Ambassador to Uzbekistan in 2000, and to Ukraine in 2003. In 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appointed Ambassador Herbst as Coordinator for the Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization. He assumed the new position in the summer of that year. Currently the subject is Senior Director of the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council. National Defense University Center for Complex Operations Ambassador John E. Herbst was appointed Director of the National Defense University Center for Complex Operations in July 2010. As Director, Ambassador Herbst will use his 30 years of United States Foreign Service experience to benefit the careers of professionals who will become the next generation of national defense practitioners. As a stability expert, Ambassador Herbst will provide guidance to students and faculty at the National Defense University. Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization Ambassador Herbst assumed the position of Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization in the summer of 2006. During his tenure, Ambassador Herbst launched the Civilian Response Corps, grew its ranks to over 1,000, and oversaw their missions in countries that include Sudan, Chad, Haiti, Lebanon, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. Under Ambassador Herbst's direction the Civilian Response Corps and the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization supported over