Kurt Volker

Ambassador Kurt Volker is a leading expert in U.S. foreign and national security policy with some 30 years of experience in a variety of government, academic, and private sector capacities.  He served as U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations from 2017 to 2019, and as U.S. Ambassador to NATO from 2008-2009.

A former CIA Analyst, Ambassador Volker joined the United States Foreign Service in 1988, serving on various European assignments, including as the Special Assistant to the United States Special Envoy for Bosnia negotiations at a critical time in that country’s peace process. In 2005 he became the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, before being appointed the U..S Permanent Representative to NATO by President George W. Bush.

From 2012-2019, Ambassador Volker was the founding Executive Director of The McCain Institute for International Leadership, a part of Arizona State University based in Washington, DC.  He is also a Senior Advisor at the Atlantic Council, a Trustee of the American College of the Mediterranean in Aix-en-Provence, France, a Trustee of the Hungary Initiatives Foundation, and a member of the International Advisory Board of USIP.

Ambassador Volker is currently a Senior International Advisor at BGR Group, which provides government relations, public relations, and business advisory services to a wide array of international clients.  He has previously served as a Director of CG Funds Trust and the Wall Street Fund.  He has taught Transatlantic Relations at The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, and remains a member of the School’s Board of Advisors.