2026 Cohen Lecture: The U.S. and the World at a Crossroads

Ambassador Nicholas Burns serves as Vice Chair of The Cohen Group and as the Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He served as US Ambassador to China from 2021 to 2025, helping to shape the increasingly important and complex bilateral relationship with China. Prior to his work in China, Ambassador Burns was a Senior Counselor at The Cohen Group for 12 years following an extraordinary career in the US Foreign Service. His expertise in diplomacy and national security extends to every region of the world.

Among the many other highlights of his three-decade diplomatic career, Ambassador Burns served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2005–2008, US Ambassador to NATO from 2001–2005, and US Ambassador to Greece from 1997–2001. He was the Department of State Spokesperson from 1995–1997 and served on the National Security Council from 1990–1995, including as Special Assistant to President Clinton and Senior Director for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Affairs, as well as Director for Soviet Affairs in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. Additionally, he served in the American Consulate General in Jerusalem from 1985–1987 and at the US Embassy in Egypt from 1983–1985.

Ambassador Burns serves as the Director of the Aspen Strategy Group and serves on the board of several non-profit organizations, including the Council on Foreign Relations, Special Olympics, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Atlantic Council.

Raised in Wellesley, Massachusetts, Ambassador Burns has a BA in History from Boston College, from which he graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1978. He earned his MA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1980.