Edward T. Canuel

Dr. Edward T. Canuel is a professor, diplomat, and attorney.  Ed is the State Department Visiting Professor at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, where he also is associated with the Academy’s Center for Arctic Study and Policy.  He has been a professor at various universities (Aalborg, American, West Point, and Aarhus); his teaching and research focus on Arctic and energy law, resilience, infrastructure security, and environmental issues.  Ed holds a B.A. from Boston College (summa cum laude); a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School; a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall in Business Law (where he served subsequently as an Osgoode Visiting Scholar); and a Ph.D. from the University of Oslo (comparative private law, focusing on the energy and finance sectors).   Ed is also an Associate Member of the Austrian Polar Research Institute, and he speaks regularly at international institutions, think tanks, and universities.

As a diplomat, Ed most recently served in various roles at the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna, including as Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, Acting Counselor for International Atomic Energy Agency Affairs, and Deputy Counselor for Nuclear Affairs.  Immediately prior, Ed served in the White House as the Homeland Security Advisor’s Coordinator for Arctic Affairs, the Deputy Senior Director in the National Security Council’s Resilience Directorate, and the White House Liaison to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.  Ed’s previous diplomatic tours include serving as Deputy Office Director in the Bureau of Counterterrorism; Senior Advisor in the Office of the Deputy Secretary of State; Environmental/Energy Trade Negotiator; State Department Visiting Professor (the U.S. Military Academy at West Point); Regional Environmental Officer/Acting Deputy Chief of Mission (Copenhagen); Energy and Economic Officer (Oslo); and Treaty Trader Officer (Toronto).  In 2012 and 2017, Ed was selected as the U.S. government’s candidate for the Arctic Council Secretariat’s Executive Director position.

Prior to joining the State Department, Ed practiced corporate law at an international law firm.