experts
Christopher Hill
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Asia Program

about


Ambassador Christopher Robert Hill is no longer with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Ambassador Christopher Robert Hill is currently an adjunct professor at Columbia SIPA. Prior to this position, he was chief global advisor at the University of Denver Global Engagement and before that, the dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the university, a position he held from September 2010 to December 2017.

In addition to overseeing the university’s global engagement, Ambassador Hill is author of Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy: A Memoir, a monthly columnist for Project Syndicate, and a highly sought public speaker and voice in the media on international affairs.

Ambassador Hill is a former career diplomat, a four-time ambassador, nominated by three presidents, whose last post was as ambassador to Iraq, April 2009 until August 2010. Prior to Iraq, Hill served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 2005 until 2009 during which he was also the head of the U.S. delegation to the Six Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. Earlier, he was the U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Korea. Previously he served as U.S. ambassador to Poland (2000-2004), ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia (1996-1999), and special envoy to Kosovo (1998-1999). He also served as a special assistant to the president and a senior director on the staff of the National Security Council, 1999-2000.

Earlier in his foreign service career, Ambassador Hill served tours in Belgrade, Warsaw, Seoul, and Tirana, and on the Department of State’s Policy Planning staff and in the Department’s operation center. While on a fellowship with the American Political Science Association he served as a staff member for Congressman Stephen Solarz working on Eastern European issues. He also served as the Department of State’s senior country officer for Poland. Ambassador Hill received the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award for his contributions as a member of the U.S. negotiating team in the Bosnia peace settlement, and was a recipient of the Robert S. Frasure Award for Peace Negotiations for his work on the Kosovo crisis. Prior to joining the foreign service, Ambassador Hill served as a Peace Corps volunteer where he supervised credit unions in rural Cameroon, West Africa.

Ambassador Hill graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine with a B.A. in Economics. He received a Master’s degree from the Naval War College in 1994. He speaks Polish, Serbo-Croatian, and Macedonian.


affiliations
areas of expertise
Foreign PolicyNorth KoreaMiddle EastEast AsiaSouth KoreaEastern EuropeForeign Policy
education
B.A., Bowdoin College, M.A., Naval War College
languages
English, Polish, Serbo-Croatian

All work from Christopher Hill

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7 Results
In the Media
A Crisis on the Korean Peninsula Reinforces the Need for Allies

When North Korea wants a crisis on the peninsula, it does not allow a peace process with the U.S. president to get in the way.

· June 11, 2020
Hill
In the Media
What Does Washington Want From China?

As the officials, almost all civilians, discussed the options, they turned to the U.S. military representative at the meeting for his view of the proposed new bombing campaign.

· May 11, 2020
Foreign Affairs
In the Media
Tired of Worrying About the Pandemic? There’s Always Pyongyang

President Trump, a marketer by inclination, has succeeded in convincing his followers that the North Korean problem is well on its way to being solved.

· April 4, 2020
Hill
In the Media
The U.S. and China Have Much to Sort Out — But Not During This Pandemic

In any crisis, even in the midst of a pandemic, there is a moment where everybody might benefit from taking a deep breath and thinking clearly about the way forward.

· March 31, 2020
Hill
event
The Trump–Kim Singapore Summit: What to Expect
June 6, 2018

Since President Trump accepted an invitation to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, he has raised expectations that North Korea might finally be willing to abandon its nuclear arsenal.

event
How to Talk to North Korea
May 14, 2018

As a possible Trump-Kim summit draws closer, join Carnegie for a conversation about what negotiating with North Korea actually entails. Previous U.S. negotiators will talk about what lessons have been learned in previous rounds of talks, and what the United States should know going forward. The New York Times’ Mark Landler will moderate.

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event
Weighing Bad Options: Past Diplomacy With North Korea and Alliance Options Today
September 18, 2017

Two veteran diplomats deeply involved with the last set of intense negotiations with North Korea will discuss their experiences and consider options in light of today’s dynamics, and will be joined by both U.S. and Japanese experts.

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