David Huebner (born 1960) is an American lawyer. He is an international arbitrator based in Southern California. He previously served as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. He was the first openly gay ambassador in the Obama administration and the third openly gay ambassador in United States history.
Early life Huebner was born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, a small coal mining town in Schuylkill County. He attended Mahanoy Area High School after which he earned an A.B. degree summa cum laude from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. While at Princeton he was named a David Lawrence Scholar, served as president of Quadrangle Club, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.Plenary Session Speaker Biographies | Every Voice Conference | Retrieved October 30, 2011 | http://alumni.princeton.edu/goinback/conferences/lgbt/EveryVoiceSpeakerBios.pdf David Huebner Mediation Attorney | Mediation.com | Retrieved October 31, 2013 | http://www.mediation.com/memberprofile/david--huebner-90071-ac.aspx He earned his Juris Doctor degree at Yale Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Yale Journal on Regulation, was director of the Street Law Project (which taught civics and basic law classes in local high schools), and was a member of the Yale AIDS Law Project, a student group that assisted with the publication of AIDS and the Law. From 1984 to 1985, Huebner was on leave of absence from Yale as a Henry Luce Scholar, serving as a special assistant to the Hon. Koji Kakizawa, a member of the lower house of Japan's Diet.
Legal career
After graduating from law school in 1986, Huebner moved to Los Angeles, California as a Fellow at the Center for Law in the Public Interest.Huebner Elected Chair of Law Revision Commission | California Law Revision Commission | August 28, 2006 | http://www.clrc.ca.gov/pub/Press/Press-Chair-Huebner-06.pdf A year later, he began his career in private legal practice at Irell & Manella.U.S. Department of State | Biography David Huebner | Retrieved October 30, 2013 | In 1992, Huebner joined the international law firm Coudert Brothers where he specialized in international arbitration and corporate compliance work and served as managing partner of the Los Angeles office, on the global executive board, and for a term as global chairman and chief executive officer. In September 2005, he joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, moving to Shanghai to open the firm's first overseas office.December 8, 2009 | Former Sheppard Mullin Shanghai Managing Partner Appointed U.S. Ambassador To New Zealand And Samoa | http://www.sheppardmullin.com/press-releases-274.html He served as the firm's chief representative in China and managing partner of the Shanghai office, where he specialized in international arbitration, corporate compliance, and trade until leaving to become Ambassador.
In April 2014, Huebner joined the law firm Arnold & Porter LLP as a partner in its international arbitration, public international law, energy, and national security practices.http://www.arnoldporter.com/news.cfm?u=FormerUSAmbassadortoNewZealandandSamoaDavidHuebnerJoinsArnoldPortersLosAngelesOffice&type=press_release&action=view&id=573 | Former U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa David Huebner Joins Arnold & Porter's Los Angeles Office | April 21, 2014. He represented governments and corporations in international disputes, trade, and investment matters with an emphasis on intellectual property-intensive sectors as well as energy, infrastructure, and construction projects. He also handled cross-border regulatory, corporate compliance, and cyber and supply chain security matters. In 2016, President Barack Obama appointed him to the Panel of Arbitrators of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The White House press release announcing the designation mentioned that the key administration appointment is for a six-year term.http://www.arnoldporter.com/en/people/h/huebner-david In early 2017 he left private law practice to become an independent arbitrator and mediator, and he affiliated with the arbitration institution JAMS International.
He is admitted as a Fellow of the London-based Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, serves on the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce's Commission on Arbitration and ADR, and serves on the panels or lists of arbitrators of several arbitration institutions, including the International Center for Dispute Resolution, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, Shanghai International Arbitration Center, Kuala Lumpur Regional Center for Arbitration, World Intellectual Property Organization, American Arbitration Association, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, and JAMS.Sheppard Mullin Launches Shanghai Office | March 12, 2007 | http://www.sheppardmullin.com/press-releases-181.html China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission | Panel of Arbitrators | May 1, 2008 | http://sccietac.org/cietac/admin/files/CIETAC%20Panel%20of%20Arbitrators.pdf David Huebner's Practice Focus Retrieved June 4th, 2015 SHIAC Panel of Arbitrators | May 1st, 2015 | http://shiac.org/upload/201505/05/20150505220239478917.pdf
He is the chairman of the Southern California chapter of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.David Huebner's Practice Focus Retrieved June 5th, 2015
In 1999 Huebner was appointed to the California Law Revision Commission by Governor Gray Davis and was reappointed in 2005 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. From 1999 to 2007 he taught full-semester courses in international law at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. He has also served as an arbitrator for more than a decade at the annual Willem Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot competitions in Hong Kong and Vienna.
Diplomatic career In October 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Huebner as U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, a post held by William McCormick until January 2009. Huebner was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 20, 2009. Huebner, a Democrat, was the first openly gay ambassador in the Obama administration, and the third openly gay ambassador in U.S. history. He was the first LGBT ambassador in American history knowingly confirmed by the U.S. Senate. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Huebner introduced his partner of 20 years, Duane McWaine; the hearing was held on the couple's 20th wedding anniversary, which Huebner acknowledged in his remarks. Huebner was sworn in as ambassador at the White House by Vice President Joseph Biden on December 4, 2009.
Separately accredited to New Zealand and Samoa, he has responsibility as well for U.S. relations with the small island nations of Cook Islands and Niue.The United States Diplomatic Mission to New Zealand | About Us page | http://newzealand.usembassy.gov/about-us.html During his time as ambassador, Huebner reengineered his two embassies around youth outreach, whole-of-society engagement, expanding exchange programs, developing new approaches and tools of “21st Century Statecraft,” and identifying practical, mutually beneficial opportunities for bilateral and multilateral cooperation on economic, science/technology, political, security, and civil society projects.U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand Blog archive with aforementioned subject areas http://blogs.newzealand.usembassy.gov/ambassador/calendar-archive/ In February 2013, The Sosaiete o Fa’afafine in American Samoa (S.O.I.F.A.S) hosted a welcoming event for Ambassador Huebner as a way of recognizing the role of human rights in the region raise awareness on "organizational issues" (in Samoan culture, being transgender has traditionally been tolerated and celebrated, while homosexuality is illegal). During this visit, Ambassador Huebner was given an official shirt embroidered with the S.O.I.F.A.S logo that is currently available in the LGBT Collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. The U.S. State Department and outside commentators have suggested that current relations between the United States and New Zealand are the best they have been in decades.U.S. Relations With New Zealand Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs , October 24, 2012.
Bilateral relations
Huebner hosted an unusually large number of visits by senior officials during his tenure as ambassador, including visits to New Zealand by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2010 (the first such visit to Wellington in a quarter century), Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano in 2012, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in 2012 (the first visit by a Secretary of Defense in more than 30 years), and Attorney General Eric Holder in 2013, as well as a visit to Cook Islands by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2012. During her 2010 visit to Wellington, Secretary Clinton and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully signed the Wellington Declaration, reaffirming the historical ties between the U.S. and New Zealand and establishing a framework for renewed strategic partnership and practical cooperation.Full text of the Wellington Declaration | Fairfax Media | 04/11/2010 | http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4309206/ During a visit to Washington in 2012, New Zealand Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta signed the Washington Declaration, reaffirming the two countries historical cooperation on security matters and setting a framework for renewed dialogue and practical collaboration in areas such as humanitarian and disaster relief and maritime security.Full text of the Washington Declaration | 19th June, 2012 | http://www.beehive.govt.nz/sites/all/files/WashingtonDeclaration.pdf
Huebner successfully advocated for a Shiprider Joint Maritime Law Enforcement Agreement between Samoa and the United States to assist Apia in enforcing its rights within its Exclusive Economic Zone.The United States and Samoa Cooperate to Protect Ocean Resources | 13th November 2012 | http://www.talamua.com/the-united-states-and-samoa-cooperate-to-protect-ocean-resources/ He also hosted the Pacific Partnership mission in 2013, restructured Embassy Apia around civil society capacity building and economic development, and facilitated construction of a district medical center near Faleolo Airport by the U.S. Pacific Command.U.S. Navy Ship Pearl Harbor launches Pacific Partnership | 1st June 2013| http://www.talamua.com/u-s-navy-ship-pearl-harbor-visits-apia-samoa-to-launch-pacific-partnership-2013/
Youth outreach
Upon his arrival Huebner began forming student adviser groups at each university in New Zealand with whom he meets regularly.Connecting Young Leaders Conference | October 5, 2010 | http://blogs.newzealand.usembassy.gov/ambassador/2010/10/young-leaders-connected-2/ All of the adviser groups are brought together annually for a three-day Connecting Young Leaders Conference focused on leadership training, policy discussions, and networking. His student adviser program has been replicated in other jurisdictions.Youth Councils Worldwide , May 24, 2013 In 2013 he launched a similar annual Future Leaders of the Pacific Conference (FLP) to engage with young leaders under age 25 from the 17 nations of the Pacific Islands Forum.Radio New Zealand - Samoa News | 02/03/2013 American Samoa hosts future leaders of Pacific meeting | http://samoanews.com/?q=node/72362 The first FLP was held in Pago Pago, American Samoa.The Future Leaders gathering | Feb 4 2013 | http://www.eastwestcenter.org/events/future-leaders-the-pacific-trends-issues-and-opportunities-collective-regional-action The second FLP is scheduled for 2014 in Apia, Samoa.Future Leaders of the Pacific Convene in Pago Pago | February 20, 2013 | http://blogs.newzealand.usembassy.gov/ambassador/2013/02/future-leaders-of-the-pacific-convene-in-pago-pago/