Christopher R. Hill is a distinguished fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center and a US diplomat who has served under seven presidents since entering the US Foreign Service in 1977.

Hill is a five-time ambassador across multiple regions in Senate-confirmed positions, including as US ambassador to Iraq, the Republic of Korea, Poland, North Macedonia, and most recently to the Republic of Serbia until January 2025. He was also assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. As the senior US negotiator, Hill led US efforts at the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, which were held from 2005-2009. He also served as lead State Department negotiator in the talks that led to the end of the Bosnian War and as US special envoy in the negotiations that led to the end of the Kosovo War. In addition, Hill served as a senior director in the National Security Council staff and as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton.

Hill earned a BA from Bowdoin College and an MA from the Naval War College. Outside of the foreign service, he was the dean of the Korbel School at the University of Denver and taught at Columbia University. He began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa.