Ambassador Gordon D. Sondland was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador the European Union last summer. A longtime figure in Portland's business, arts and culture, and political communities, the Ambassador brings decades of public service to his latest role, representing the U.S. to the European Union. Join us for a six-month progress report on the state of U.S.-EU relations. What strategies are being engaged to reinvigorate how the U.S. Mission to the EU does business? Are we beginning to see a new phase in the relationship between the U.S. and the European Union that will support free, fair, and, in some cases, more reciprocal trade to both sides of the Atlantic? What effect will Brexit have on EU-U.S. relations? This is a rare opportunity to hear, first-hand, how Ambassador Sondland and the U.S. Mission are working to answer these and other questions and to promote security, address shared global challenges, and advance prosperity for citizens here in Oregon and the U.S. and across the pond.

Gordon D. Sondland was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 29, 2018, as U.S. Representative to the European Union with the rank of Ambassador. He arrived in Brussels on July 8, 2018 and presented his credentials at the European Commission and to President of the European Council Donald Tusk on July 9, 2018.

Ambassador Sondland is the Founder and CEO of Provenance Hotels, a national owner and operator of full-service boutique “lifestyle” hotels. His community service includes positions on Governor Kulongoski’s transition team, as well as service on the Commission for White House Fellowships to which he was appointed by President George W. Bush. Governor Kulongoski asked Ambassador Sondland to serve as a principal Republican liaison between Oregon and the White House, and during the following seven years, assisted successfully in securing federal funds for various urgent Oregon state needs. He also served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Portland Art Museum, and was elected its Chairman in 2009 where he served until 2011.

Ambassador Sondland was appointed by Governor Kulongoski as Chairman to the Governor’s Office of Film and Television in 2002 and helped to preside over the growth of Oregon’s film and television industry, by securing for Oregon the production of such television series as The Librarians, Grimm, Portlandia and Leverage.

In 1993, Ambassador Sondland co-founded the Gordon D. Sondland and Katherine J. Durant Foundation, which was established to “help families and boost communities.” The Foundation has given millions of dollars to such diverse needs as childhood education, African hunger programs, the arts, and medical research. The Foundation recently announced the establishment of the Sondland/Durant Early Cancer Detection Conference under the Knight Cancer Institute at OHSU. Additionally, the Sondland/Durant Foundation recently created the Sondland and Durant Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Duke University.