Eric Bjornlund

Eric Bjornlund is co-founder and President of Democracy International, a U.S.-based consulting firm specializing in international democracy and governance assistance (www.democracyinternational.us). A lawyer and development professional with nearly two decades of international experience, Mr. Bjornlund has designed and managed democratic development programs in more than 25 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Eurasia, and the Middle East in the areas of international and domestic election monitoring, election systems and administration, political party building, legislative development, constitutional and legal reform, decentralization, women’s political empowerment, civil-military relations, civic and voter education, and civil society advocacy. From 1989 to 2000, Mr. Bjornlund worked for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) in various senior positions in Washington and overseas, including Senior Associate and Asia Director, Country Director in Indonesia and Palestine, Director of Program Coordination and General Counsel. From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Bjornlund was a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. In 2004, he served as Field Office Director for The Carter Center in Indonesia. Mr. Bjornlund has written and spoken extensively about transitional and postconflict elections, democratization, legal reform and international democracy promotion. He is author of Beyond Free and Fair: Monitoring Elections and Building Democracy (Washington, Baltimore and London: Wilson Center Press and Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004) as well as a number of book chapters, articles and essays. Mr. Bjornlund has testified on many occasions before the U.S. Congress and before the United Nations, has spoken at conferences and universities throughout the world, and has appeared on television and radio in the U.S. and abroad. Earlier in his career, Mr. Bjornlund practiced corporate and international law for four years at Ropes & Gray in Boston, Massachusetts, one of the largest law firms in the United States. He holds a Juris Doctor from Columbia University, a Master in Public Administration from John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from Williams College.