Global Challenges: What’s Next for U.S. Foreign Policy

Nicholas Burns is the Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations at Harvard Kennedy School, where he founded and chairs the Future of Diplomacy Project. He is also a Faculty Affiliate at Harvard’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies.

From 2021 to 2025, Burns served as U.S. Ambassador to China, leading officials from 48 U.S. agencies in managing one of America’s most complex relationships. Over more than three decades in government, he served six presidents and nine secretaries of state. He was Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (2005–2008), Ambassador to NATO (2001–2005), Ambassador to Greece (1997–2001), and State Department Spokesman (1995–1997). Earlier, he worked on the National Security Council at the White House, focusing on Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia at the end of the Cold War.

Burns is Vice Chairman of the Cohen Group, Co-Chair of the Aspen Strategy Group, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. A Boston College graduate, he has received fifteen honorary degrees and numerous awards for distinguished service and leadership.

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