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Michael McFaul has been the deputy director of Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and director of its center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, was a senior adviser on Russia and Eurasia during Obama's campaign.
He is an expert on U.S. foreign policy, U.S.-Russian relations, political and economic reform in the post-communist world and democracy promotion, according to the university.
He earned bachelor's degrees in international relations and Slavic languages and literatures and a master's degree in Russian and East European studies from Stanford in 1986. He completed a doctorate in international relations at Oxford in 1991.
Mcfaul was appointed senior director of Russian and Eurasian affairs for the National Security Council.
"Now, from the White House, the president can call on Mike's expertise and experience in the region to build more constructive relationships with Russia, Eurasia and our allies across a broad strategic front," Freeman Spogli Institute Director Coit D. Blacker said in a prepared statement.
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