Scott Bates

Scott Bates is the Regional Director for Europe and Eurasia at the National Democratic Institute (NDI), with more than twenty-five years of leadership experience at the state, national, and international levels in policy development, democracy, and governance across five continents. He has served as Chief of Staff, Counsel, and Senior Advisor to multiple U.S. Congressmen on Capitol Hill. Notably, he was the first Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee following September 11th, where he was the principal author of “Winning the War on Terror,” a key document informing the 9/11 Commission Report. His international portfolio includes leading democracy and governance programs in post-conflict regions like Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Bosnia. Bates has worked in the British Parliament and served as an advisor to the Premier of South Australia. Bates has taught Homeland Security at the National Defense University and held visiting professorships at the University of Virginia School of Law and the University of Tokyo. He holds a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law and an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics.