Eugene Lawson began his presidency of the newly formed U.S.-Russia Business Council on January 11, 1993, following his resignation as acting chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
At Ex-Im bank, Mr. Lawson worked to expand trade links with Russia and other newly independent states in Central and Eastern Europe through trade credits. He was the George H.W. Bush Administration's point man in negotiations to conclude a proposed $2 billion oil and gas framework agreement with Russia.
From 1988 to 1989, Mr. Lawson was deputy under secretary of labor for international affairs. In 1988, he also served as U.S. ambassador to the International Labor Organization in Geneva and as a member of the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
He was deputy assistant secretary of commerce for East Asia and the Pacific from 1982 to 1984. From 1981 to 1982, he was deputy assistant secretary of commerce for East-West Trade.
Mr. Lawson served as an officer in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific from 1961 to 1963.
Mr. Lawson graduated cum laude from Princeton University and holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University.
His most recent book is Russian-Eurasian Renaissance? U.S. Trade and Investment in Russia and Eurasia, which Mr. Lawson co-edited with Jan Kalicki. He is also the author of two books about China: U.S.-China Trade: Problems and Prospects and The Sino-Vietnamese Conflict. He has also published numerous magazine and newspaper articles on international trade issues.
