From 2003 to 2005, Ambassador Speckhard served as Director of Policy Planning responsible for advising and assisting the Secretary General, senior NATO management, and the Council in addressing strategic issues facing the alliance. From 2000 to 2003, he was NATO's Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs, covering political relations with the countries of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, and the Mediterranean. During this period, Ambassador Speckhard received the NATO Service Medal for his crisis management work.

As U.S. Ambassador to Belarus from 1997 to 2000, Speckhard worked closely with the OSCE and EU in promoting democratic reform, human rights, and institutional development. From 1993 to 1997, he was a Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for the New Independent States at the State Department in Washington. He was responsible for a broad range of political, security and economic issues facing large parts of the former Soviet Union.

From 1990 to 1993, Ambassador Speckhard served as an advisor and then Director of Policy and Resources for the Deputy Secretary of State, coordinating and overseeing foreign aid funding in support of U.S. policy objectives. He received special recognition for his role in reorienting these programs to meet the new challenges of the post-Cold War era. From 1981 to 1990, his assignments included positions in the International Affairs Division of the Office of Management and Budget, the US Agency for International Development, staff member in the U.S. Senate, and in state and local government.

Ambassador Speckhard has a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Administration and a Masters Degree in Economics as well as a Bachelors Degree from the University of Wisconsin.