White House Nominates Christopher Hill '74, H'14 for Key Balkans Post

By Tom Porter

Career diplomat Christopher Hill '74, H '14  has been chosen by President Joe Biden as the next US ambassador to Serbia. Hill’s nomination, which requires confirmation by the US Senate, was announced by the White House on October 14, 2021.

chris hill in 2017
Hill lecturing at Bowdoin College in 2017

Hill retired from the foreign service in 2010 after serving as ambassador to Iraq. He has also been America’s top diplomat in Korea, Poland, and Macedonia, as well as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. From 2005 to 2009, Hill led the US delegation at six- party talks aimed at dissuading North Korea from pursuing its nuclear weapons program.

Earlier in his career, Hill was a member of the negotiating team whose efforts led to the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995, ending the Bosnian war that had been going on for more than three years.

Hill also has numerous academic achievements, including serving ten years as dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. He is currently adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. 

Among his many honors, Hill is the recipient of the Robert S. Frasure Award for Peace Negotiations and the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Award. Hill speaks Serbian, Polish, Macedonian, and French.