The Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Chair in National Security Studies

In 2002, the Council on Foreign Relations established an endowed Senior Fellowship in National Security Studies in honor of Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, long active in the Council and on its Board of Directors, in recognition of her continuing legacy of fidelity to the highest ideals of national service, and her special combination of scholarship, hardheadedness, and courage. The endowed chair creates a position for a leading scholar or policymaker whose outlook is consistent with the best of American traditions, and also mirrors the commitment Jeane Kirkpatrick brought to her tasks in government and academic life.

Jeane J. Kirkpatrick (1926 - 2006)

Jeane J. Kirkpatrick was a member of the Reagan Administration Cabinet from 1981 to 1985 as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations, after which she served as a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board until 1990. She served as a member of the Defense Policy Review Board from 1985 to 1993.

She began her teaching career at Georgetown in 1967, and taught there for 13 years before taking her post at the United Nations. She returned to Georgetown in 1986 and was the Leavey Professor until 2002.

In addition to eleven years as a syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times, Ambassador Kirkpatrick published numerous articles in leading newspapers and scholarly publications, and authored several books including Good Intentions: Lost on the Road to the New World Order.

Ambassador Kirkpatrick joined the Council on Foreign Relations in 1981, and was a member of the Board of Directors from 1985 to 1994, during which time she became Vice Chair.

Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellows in National Security Studies: