Connor McPartland is an assistant director with the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative.

Previously, he was deputy director for Arctic and oceans policy in the Office for Arctic & Global Resilience, part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy at the US Department of Defense (DOD). In this role, he worked to develop defense policy priorities on Arctic security issues and advocate for Arctic capabilities through collaboration across the DOD and with allies and partners. He served as the lead drafter of the 2024 DOD Arctic Strategy and coordinated DOD’s input to the National Strategy for the Arctic Region Implementation Plan. McPartland joined DOD as an Intergovernmental Personnel Act detailee from the Atlantic Council. His work at the Council has focused on the future of the transatlantic air domain, Baltic Sea regional security, and China’s impact on transatlantic relations. Prior to joining the Council, McPartland worked as a research intern with the Hudson Institute’s Center for Political-Military Analysis, as a graduate teaching assistant at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and as a legislative aide with the Office of the Revisor of Statutes at the Minnesota Legislature.

Originally from Florissant, Missouri, McPartland graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in international relations and German in 2015. During his time at the University of Iowa, he spent a year studying at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, where he focused on German politics, history, and linguistics. He received his Master of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs in 2018.