Christopher R Hill

Christopher R Hill’s Background

Ambassador Christopher Robert Hill is currently the chief advisor to the chancellor for global engagement and professor of the practice in diplomacy at the University of Denver. Prior to this position, he was 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.

Career in Foreign Service

Ambassador Hill is a former career diplomat. A four-time ambassador nominated by three presidents, his last post was as ambassador to Iraq, which he held from 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 in six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. Earlier, he was the U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Korea (2004-05), Poland (2000-04), the Republic of Macedonia (1996-99) and the special envoy to Kosovo (1998-99). Hill also served as a special assistant to the president and as a senior director on the staff of the National Security Council from 1999 to 2000.

Early Career

Earlier in his foreign service career, Ambassador Hill served tours in Belgrade, Warsaw, Seoul, and Tirana. He also served 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, Hill 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.

Recognition

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 he 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, during which he supervised credit unions in rural Cameroon, West Africa.

Education

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