Clifford George Bond, a career diplomat and former ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, died at his home in Washington, D.C. March 30, 2024. Cliff and Michele, his wife of 41 years, also a Foreign Service officer, raised four children during their decades-long careers, serving primarily in Eastern Europe at a time characterized by energetic optimism and a moral clarity about the importance of diplomacy for America and the world.
They met and married when both were serving at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia from 1980 to 1983.
As an economic officer at the embassy in Stockholm in April 1986, Cliff investigated local news reporting of “abnormal radiation readings” over the capital and sent the first alert to the United States government (ahead of U.S. news outlets) confirming a major nuclear incident was taking place in the Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev would comment later that Chernobyl was a turning point – “the point that the system as we knew it could no longer continue.”
As a political officer at the embassy in Prague from 1987 to 1990, Cliff witnessed the Velvet Revolution unfold and filed detailed reports to Washington as the façade of Soviet power crumbled around him. He was deeply moved by the courage of the Czech dissident movement, led by Vaclav Havel. While observing protests sweeping the capital in 1989, he and a colleague narrowly escaped injury as security forces moved in to suppress the crowd with cudgels. The Communist government fell within days.
Cliff advanced through assignments focused on the former Soviet Union, including an assignment in post-Soviet Moscow and extensive travel throughout Central Asia and the Caucasus, but he never lost his personal connection to the Balkans. It was with profound pride that he served as U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2001 to 2004. Drawing on his knowledge of local history and fluency in the language, he traveled extensively and worked closely with the diplomatic community in Sarajevo to urge Bosnia’s leadership toward democracy and unity.
With his deep conviction that the United States had an obligation to promote positive momentum, Cliff was in his element, leading the U.S. mission in a country with aspirations of Western integration and a challenging post-Communist legacy. Through his continued work in the region over the next 10 years, including as the U.S. Special Envoy for Srebrenica, and for the rest of his life, Cliff maintained a deep network of friendships across Bosnia and Croatia. His family shared his love of the Balkans, spending many holidays there together.
In 2014, Cliff was called out of retirement to serve at the Embassy in Kyiv where he coordinated aid to Ukraine in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Arriving on a three-month assignment that lasted more than a year, Cliff saw his work in Ukraine as a vital extension of the themes that characterized his career. He was never more certain that a fragile democracy required support from the United States and he was deeply impressed by the determination and commitment of Ukraine’s government and citizens. In later years he served as Chargé d’Affaires at the embassies in Stockholm and Tallinn. In each post, he shared local news, personal anecdotes and photographs with family and friends back home through his “Cliff’s Notes” email series – much beloved by its intimate and dedicated readership.
In his personal life, Cliff enjoyed simple pleasures: long hikes, good company, shared meals and lively conversation. He loved to bring friends and family together for dinner or for longer stays and to share old stories, debate current events and, inevitably, plan subsequent gatherings. He traveled avidly, including to visit his four children as their jobs took them around the world. He was delighted to become a grandfather and enjoyed his role as “Granddad” to five little ones.
Cliff treasured the close friends in his life, including university friendships that spanned over 50 years and State Department colleagues whose families became close family friends.
The pandemic offered the unexpected blessing of a renewed depth of connection with neighbors. Frequent outdoor gatherings – “hours of charm” – were the social highlight of his week in stressful times. He will be dearly missed by the friends and family he touched with his humor and intellect.
A proud native of Rumson, Cliff was the oldest of six siblings. He was a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the National War College. He is survived by his beloved wife, Michele Thoren Bond; four children, Robert (Gina), Elisabeth (Stefan), Lillian (Eoin) and Matthew; five grandchildren; and his siblings, Frank, Robert, Peter and Susan.
Cliff was predeceased by his parents, Edward and Dorothy Craig Bond, and a brother, Christopher.
In lieu of flowers, his family requests donations to the Halo Trust at halotrust.org or RazomforUkraine at razomforukraine.org/donate.
The article originally appeared in the April 18 – 24, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
