David I. Adelman
[24] After graduating from the Emory University School of Law in 1989, Adelman served for two years as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Georgia.[25] In 1993, Adelman joined the law firm of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan[25] His practice focused on matters involving energy, communications and technology companies.[25] During his eight years as a State Senator, Adelman introduced bills to improve government ethics, increase investments in renewable energy, expand stem-cell research, fight domestic violence, and streamline Georgia's corporate code.[43] In 2006, Adelman was praised by First Amendment advocates when on the final day of the legislative session he passed a law which required public disclosure of college and university police reports and statistics.[44] In 2009, in response to the Darfur genocide, Adelman authored a bi-partisan bill that sanctioned investments in business with ties to the Sudanese government.Adelman was selected as Legislator of the Year in 2007 by the Georgia Bio Life Sciences Partnership for his leadership on stem cell research.[53] His 2012 trade mission to Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar, was the first by an American business delegation and helped bolster the fledgling democratically elected government.In 2009, As ambassador, Adelman was praised for strengthening cultural and commercial ties between Singapore (and its neighbors in Southeast Asia) and the United States.[16] Adelman successfully worked to make Singapore a party to the Hague Convention on International Child Abductions and the countries signed the U.S.–Singapore Preventing and Combating Serious Crime Agreement.[59] In August 2012, the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of State specifically recognized his leadership of the embassy in Singapore, citing American policy makers calling his regional approach to trade promotion "extremely innovative".[60] The Inspector General praised Adelman for his efforts to promote investment from Asia into the United States and the establishment of the U.S.–Singapore Strategic Partnership Dialogue.[60] The report notes that "[a]gency heads with regional perspectives told inspectors they considered the Ambassador one of the most effective and dynamic embassy executives in the field.[61] Adelman's managerial techniques were also singled out, noting that even employees who spend much of their time outside Singapore demonstrated a firm grasp of the objectives and expectations of the ambassador and embassy's team.[62] As Ambassador, Adelman successfully negotiated the terms under which Singapore agreed for the first time to allow forward deployment to Changi Naval Base of US Navy ships.[73] In 2017 he commented to the Wall Street Journal regarding the collision of the US Navy Destroyer the USS John S. McCain with a merchant vessel in the Straits of Malacca.[81] In 2016 he authored an editorial published in the Huffington Post stating the next US president must exercise discipline and restraint to promote US–China cooperation and stability in the Pacific.[84] In May 2019, Adelman authored an editorial in the South China Morning Post urging the U.S. to listen more closely to its friends in Asia and re-engage in multilateral organizations.[101][102] Adelman appeared on CNBC Asia Street Signs in June 2019 commenting that globalization would increase despite US-China trade tensions.[104] In July and August 2019 he was featured on CNN's First Move from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange discussing the impact of the trade war on the public equity markets.[107] Speaking at the World Economic Forum in 2024, Adelman stated that the US and European political cycles combined with hangover anxieties from the global pandemic had led to "protectionist and isolationist sentiments.".[108] Adelman was quoted extensively in the Financial Times in December 2024 offering his outlook on Donald Trump's view of China in a second term.