Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992. In addition to the UN, Pickering was ambassador to the Russian Federation, India, Israel and El Salvador. In 1997 Pickering was appointed by President Clinton to the position of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the third highest post in the U.S. State Department. He played a pivotal role in the negotiation of the joint security framework, Plan Colombia. Pickering now serves as a Distinguished Fellow at the Brookings Institution and is a member on the Foreign Affairs Policy Board at the U.S. Department of State.