John J . Maresca John J . Maresca ( born 1937 in Italy ) is a distinguished Italian - American diplomat , business leader , and educator . Maresca has held a number of posts in the US government including Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and US Ambassador . He has also founded , led , and contributed to a number of prominent NGOs and private sector companies . He currently serves as Rector of the United Nations mandated University for Peace ( UPEACE ) in Costa Rica . Early life . John Maresca graduated from Yale University in 1959 and then went on to pursue graduate work at the London School of Economics . Upon graduation , he served in the US military as a naval officer in North Africa and Europe until 1965 . He then spent 6 years in early assignments as a career diplomat in the US Department of State . Government career . Maresca was Chef de Cabinet for two Secretary Generals of NATO , Manlio Brosio and Joseph Luns , in Brussels . From 1978 to 1985 , Maresca held a number of senior posts within the US Department of State . He was Deputy Head of the US Delegation for the Negotiation of the Helsinki Final Act , Head of NATO Political Affairs , Director of Western European Relations , and Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy Paris . From 1986 - 1989 , Maresca served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Europe and NATO at the US Department of Defense in Washington . He was responsible for all US military activities in Europe , including participation in NATO , US bases , and military relations with the USSR and the Warsaw Pact . In 1989 , Maresca was appointed Ambassador and Chairman of the United States Delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ( OSCE ) . In this role he was the principal architect of the agreements which formally ended the Cold War and established new institutions for the post - Cold War era , the “ Charter of Paris for a New Europe , ” and the “ Joint Declaration of Twenty - Two States , ” both signed by the heads of State of 33 countries at the Paris Summit of 1990 . In 1992 , he was appointed United States Ambassador and Special Representative for mediation of the conflicts in Cyprus and Nagorno Karabakh . In this role , Maresca was responsible for helping to created the so - called “ Minsk Group , ” which since 1992 has been the basic forum for negotiation of a peaceful settlement of the N - K conflict . Following this post Maresca was appointed Ambassador and Special Envoy to open United States relations with the newly independent states of Central Asia and the Caucasus . He helped to establish the principle that the newly independent States from the former USSR were entitled to membership in the OSCE , thus giving them their first direct link with Europe and North America . Post - Government Activities . Maresca was a Guest Scholar at the United States Institute of Peace ( USIP ) , Washington from 1994 - 1995 . After his tenure at USIP , he spent one year at he was President , Open Media Research Institute ( OMRI ) in Prague . From 1997 - 99 , Maresca Served as Vice President for International Relations , Union Oil of California ( Unocal ) where he created a single , company - wide corporate social responsibility program which directed millions of dollars toward constructive charitable objectives to countries in need . In 1999 , Maresca founded the Business - Humanitarian Forum ( BHF ) in Geneva , Switzerland . BHF is devoted to encouraging business engagement in sustainable development , and developing public - private sector projects in post - conflict and very poor countries of Asia , Africa and Southeastern Europe . University for Peace . In 2007 Maresca was appointed Rector of the University for Peace . Headquartered in Costa Rica , the United Nations - mandated University for Peace was established in December 1980 as a Treaty Organization by the UN General Assembly . As determined in the Charter of the University , the mission of the University for Peace is : “ to provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for peace with the aim of promoting among all human beings the spirit of understanding , tolerance and peaceful coexistence , to stimulate cooperation among peoples and to help lessen obstacles and threats to world peace and progress , in keeping with the noble aspirations proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations " . Maresca has helped to expand this international presence of this university . Ambassador Maresca has served and currently serves on a number of boards including the American University of Paris ; International Research and Exchanges Board ( IREX ) ; Search for Common Ground ; National Bureau of Asian Research ( NBR ) ; Women and Public Policy Program , Kennedy School , Harvard University ; Humanitarian Affairs Review ; Commission for Security and Cooperation in the Persian Gulf ; American - Iranian Council ( AIC ) ; Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of the Armed Forces ( DCAF ) ; AIG Silk Road Fund ; ISO Senior Advisory Group on Corporate Responsibility ; Commission on Business in Society of the International Chamber of Commerce ( ICC ) ; OECD Secretary General ' s Round Table on Corporate Social Responsibility . Publications . Books : " To Helsinki , " Duke University Press , 1985 , second edition and paperback edition , 1987 ; " The End of the Cold War , " Stanford University , 1995 .