John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Richard L. Morningstar is an adjunct lecturer in public policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and is a former U.S. ambassador to the European Union. He has been a visiting scholar and diplomat in residence at the Stanford University's Institute for International Studies and a visiting professor at Stanford Law School. Mr. Morningstar joined the law firm of Peabody and Brown (now Nixon and Peabody) upon graduation from law school in 1970 and remained with the firm through 1981. He then joined Costar Corporation as president and chief executive officer and became chairman of the board of that corporation in 1990. From 1993 to 1995, he served as senior vice-president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporations (OPIC). In 1995, Mr. Morningstar became an ambassador and special advisor to the president and secretary of state on assistance for the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union. In 1998, he became special advisor to the president and secretary of state for Caspian basin energy diplomacy. In 1999, Mr. Morningstar was appointed U.S. ambassador to the European Union. He received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.
