Robert C. McFarlane

Robert C. McFarlane is the Founder of Energy and Communications Solutions, LLC. During his 30 years in the government, he served as President Reagan’s National Security Advisor and was a US Ambassador to the Middle East.

In 1971 Mr. McFarlane was named a White House Fellow and served in the White House’s Office of Legislative Affairs. Following that assignment he became Military Assistant to Henry Kissinger and Brent Scowcroft for five years. He was then appointed by President Ford as his Special Assistant for National Security Affairs and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy & Marine Corps' highest peacetime military decoration.

In 1981, Mr. McFarlane was appointed by President Reagan and confirmed by the US Senate as Counselor to the Department of State. In that role he was responsible for sensitive exchanges between the Secretary of State (Alexander Haig) and Heads of State and Government throughout the Middle East and South Asia.


In 1982, President Reagan appointed Mr. McFarlane as his Deputy National Security Advisor where he was responsible for the integration of the policy recommendations of the Departments of State, Treasury and Defense. In 1983, he was appointed by the President as his Special Representative in the Middle East where he was responsible for sensitive negotiations between Israel and the Arab States.

Following that assignment he returned to the White House and was appointed President Reagan's National Security Advisor in 1985, in which he was responsible for the development of US foreign and defense policy. He is best remembered as the architect of the comprehensive set of US policies, perhaps most notably the Strategic Defense Initiative (or Star Wars), a strategic-defense initiative that accelerated the collapse of Marxism in the former Soviet Union.

Following his retirement from government, Mr. McFarlane founded his own company, Global Energy Investors (GEI), a developer of energy infrastructure projects in Asia and South America. Mr. McFarlane serves concurrently as the Founding Chairman of Energy and Communications Solutions, LLC (E&CS), a developer of energy and environmental projects in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. E&CS is currently co-developing a large liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to bring Russian gas from the Yamal peninsula to North America, and concurrently advising the governments of Russia and Ukraine on environmental policy and the establishment of market based greenhouse gas (GHG) trading systems.

Mr. McFarlane received his undergraduate education at the US Naval Academy, graduating in 1959 with a BS in Engineering. He was commissioned in the US Marine Corps. In 1965, he commanded an artillery battery in the first landing of US forces in Vietnam and returned for a second tour ('67- 68) that included the Tet offensive.

He was chosen as an Olmsted Scholar and received his graduate education at the Institut de Hautes Etudes Internationales in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was awarded a Master's Degree (License) with a specialty in Strategic Studies (Highest Honors).