For more than 40 years, A. Edward Elmendorf has been involved in international organizations. In 1963, he joined the U.S. Foreign Service and worked at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. In 1965 he served as personal assistant to U.S. Ambassadors Adlai Stevenson and Arthur Goldberg. In 1970 he left the Foreign Service to join the World Bank.

During a 30-year career in the World Bank, Elmendorf worked on policy planning, then loan programming and negotiation with North African countries. His focus then led to country assistance strategy, lending and macroeconomic policy in Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Indian Ocean countries. He is co-author of the book Better Health in Africa.

Since retiring from the World Bank, Elemendorf has taught at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and its Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is a consultant for the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Institute of Medicine, the African Development Bank and the U.N. Development Program. 

He serves on the Textile Museum advisory council and the World Affairs Council board of directors, both in Washington, D.C. He is a former president of the U.N. Association of the National Capital Area and chair of the Council of Chapters and Divisions of UNA-USA.

Elmendorf received his undergraduate education at Yale University, his master’s degree in economics at George Washington University and a master’s in international health at Johns Hopkins University.