Ambassador Donald T. Bliss is the Representative of the United States on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), located in Montreal, Canada. The Council functions as a board of directors for ICAO, an organization of 189 Contracting States that fosters and facilitates international air travel and establishes standards and recommended practices in the areas of safety, security and the environment. Ambassador Bliss was sworn in on February 21, 2006, and assumed this post on February 23, 2006 after having been nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
Prior to assuming this post, Mr. Bliss was Chair of the Aviation/Transportation Practice Group of O’Melveny & Myers LLP with offices in Washington, DC, California, New York, Europe, Japan and China. As an attorney, he represented airlines, airports, governments, trade associations, and manufacturers on various policy, regulatory, legislative and other strategic issues affecting aviation. He argued cases before the federal and state courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States and other federal appellate courts, and he has served as a federal court-appointed Special Master on transportation issues.
Prior to joining the law firm in 1977, Mr. Bliss served as Acting General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation under Secretary William T. Coleman, Jr. during the Administration of President Ford. Prior to that he served with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, the Department of State, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
From 1999-2001, Mr. Bliss served as Chair of the American Bar Association’s Air and Space Law Forum. He previously served as Chair of the Federal Bar Association’s Transportation Law Section, was Co-Chair of the District of Columbia Bar Association’s Administrative Law and Agency Practice Section, and President of the Harvard Law School Association of D.C. He is the author of a book, The Law of Airline-Customer Relations: Stability, Security, Safety and Service, Hale & Northam LLC (April 2002), and numerous articles on transportation, including "A Challenge to U.S. Aviation Leadership – Launching the New Era of Global Aviation," Ripon Forum (July 1991); "Economic Deregulation and Safety - Are They Compatible?" 36 Federal Bar Journal 71 (Feb. 1989); "Overseeing Competition in the Airline Industry: Will the Transfer to Justice Make a Difference?" (with Jacob Lewis) 34 Federal Bar Journal 7 (Sep. 1987); "Another Concorde Legend," 15 Air and Space Lawyer, 2, at p. 23 (Fall 2000); "Drug Testing and Federal Employees: Lessons From the Transportation Experience," 35 Federal Bar Journal 5 (1988); and "Making Transportation Policy," Transportation U.S.A. (1976).
Mr. Bliss received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1966 and his BA from Principia College in 1963.
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