Richard L. Morningstar is a renowned expert in international energy relations. He is the founding chairman of the Global Energy Center and a board director at the Atlantic Council. Morningstar served as the US ambassador to Azerbaijan and the European Union. He has held various significant positions in government, academia, and the private sector, contributing to the field of international relations. Morningstar received his BA from Harvard University and his JD from Stanford Law School.

Morningstar started his career with the law firm of Peabody & Brown (now Nixon Peabody) in Boston, Massachusetts, where he practiced law from 1970 to 1981. He then served as CEO of Costar Corporation, and since 1990 as the chairman of the board.[1][3] Since June 1993, Morningstar has served as senior vice president for Policy and Investment Development at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

In April 1995, Morningstar was posted as the special advisor to the president and Secretary of State on Assistance to the New Independent States of the Former Soviet Union. His rank of ambassador was confirmed by the Senate on 11 June 1996. In July 1998, he was assigned as a special advisor to the president and the Secretary of State for Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy. In that capacity Morningstar was a promoter of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline. In 1999–2001, Morningstar served as the United States Ambassador to the European Union.