R. Nicholas Burns

Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Middle East Initiative
Office Address
Littauer-240
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 54
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-496-3255
Fax: 617-495-8963
Email: Nicholas_Burns@ksg.harvard.edu
Assistant
Sarah Kneezle (617-495-2495)
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Profile

Ambassador Nicholas Burns is Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project and Faculty Chair for the Programs on the Middle East and on India and South Asia. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Schools Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He was a visiting Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in summer 2008.

He is Director of the Aspen Strategy Group, Senior Counselor at the Cohen Group and serves on the Board of Directors of the Vangent Holding Corporation and the Advisory Board for Veracity Worldwide. Burns is on the Board of Directors of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Center for a New American Security, The Atlantic Council and a number of other non-profit organizations. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission., the Order of Saint John and Red Sox Nation.

Ambassador Burns served in the United States Foreign Service for twenty-seven years until his retirement in April 2008. He was Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2005 to 2008, the State Departments third-ranking official when he led negotiations on the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Agreement, a long-term military assistance agreement with Israel and was the lead U.S. negotiator on Irans nuclear program. He was U.S. Ambassador to NATO (2001-2005) and to Greece (1997-2001) and State Department Spokesman (1995-1997). He worked for five years (1990-1995) on the National Security Council at the White House when he was Senior Director for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia Affairs and Special Assistant to President Clinton and, before that, Director for Soviet Affairs in the Administration of President George H.W. Bush. Burns also served in the American Consulate General in Jerusalem from 1985 to 1987 where he coordinated U.S. economic assistance to the Palestinian people in the West Bank and before that, at the American embassies in Egypt and Mauritania. He has received ten honorary doctorates, the Secretary of States Distinguished Service Award, the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from the Johns Hopkins University and the Boston College Alumni Achievement Award. Burns has a BA in History from Boston College (1978) and an MA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (1980). He also earned the Certificat Pratique de Langue Francaise at the University of Paris-Sorbonne in 1977.

Courses

Fall

  • IGA-208-A Modern Diplomacy: Peace and War in the 21st Century

Spring

  • IGA-208-B Modern Diplomacy: Peace and War in the 21st Century

Media Expertise

R. Nicholas Burns welcomes media inquiries on the following subjects:

Additional experts may be found by clicking on each subject listed. You may contact faculty directly or if you need assistance contact the Communications Office at 617-495-1115.

Research

For a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Book Chapters
    • Burns, R. Nicholas, Yoichi Funabashi, and Wolfgang Ischinger. The New US Administration: Meeting Challenges, Managing Expectations. Seeking Opportunities in Crisis Trilateral Cooperation in Meeting Global Challenges. Brookings Institution Press: Trilateral Commission, Tokyo Plenary Meeting, 2009, 83-90.
  • Edited Volumes
    • Burns, Nicholas, and Jonathan Price, eds. The Global Economic Crisis and Potential Implications for Foreign Policy and National Security. Aspen Institute, 2009.
  • Op-Eds
    • Burns, R. Nicholas. "Working With Our Friends in Europe." Boston Globe, April 3, 2009.
    • Burns, R. Nicholas. "Obama's Opportunity in Iran." Boston Globe, October 1, 2009.
    • Scocroft, Brent, Joseph S. Nye Jr., R. Nicholas Burns, and Strobe Talbott. "US, Russia Must Lead on Arms Control." Politico, October 13, 2009.
    • Burns, R. Nicholas. "Ways Obama can Tend Bonds with India." Boston Globe, November 24, 2009.
  • Public Testimony
    • Burns, R. Nicholas. Statement of Nicholas Burns Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Testimony to the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate (May 6, 2009).
    • Burns, R. Nicholas. Testimony to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate, June 30, 2009.
    • Burns, R. Nicholas. "Statement of Nicholas Burns Before the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs." Testimony before the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, July 30, 2009.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • Burns, R. Nicholas. "The Future of U.S.-India Relations." Presentation for the Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania, November 2008.