Distinguished journalist will lead Atlantic Council’s influential suite of publications

WASHINGTON, DC – May 27, 2020 – The Atlantic Council announced today the appointment of international affairs journalist Uri Friedman, who has spent the past decade in editorial positions at the magazines The Atlantic and Foreign Policy, as its first managing editor. 

Friedman will oversee all Council written publications, including reports, expert blog contributions, and newsletters. Reporting to Andrew Marshall, vice president of communications and veteran British journalist, Friedman will also be at the center of designing the Atlantic Council’s editorial policies, including ongoing innovation of its digital projects and products.  

“Uri matured as a journalist at The Atlantic, whose digital innovations have refreshed and reinvigorated one of America’s greatest and most durable publishers,” said Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council and a 25-year veteran of The Wall Street Journal. “We are delighted to bring on board his rich and varied experience of editorial innovation and his dedication to the highest standards of editorial quality, integrity and good writing.”

The Atlantic Council performs its nonpartisan mission of “shaping the global future together” with partners and allies through the work it publishes, the ideas it generates, the future leaders it develops and the communities it builds. Over the past dozen years, it has been one of the fastest growing international relations organizations, building on its results-oriented ethos, future orientation and collaborative approach. 

“I have long admired the innovative and insightful ways in which the Atlantic Council has served as a guide to the trends and challenges that are reshaping the world today and will define it tomorrow,” said Friedman. “I’m energized by the opportunity to amplify and build on that work at this historic moment.”

Friedman was most recently a member of The Atlantic’s editorial team, serving as a staff writer, and, previously, as the senior editor of TheAtlantic.com’s Global section. Prior to his time at The Atlantic, Friedman was the deputy managing editor of Foreign Policy. 

His reporting covered a range of foreign affairs issues, including the North Korean nuclear challenge; US relations with China; the crisis in Venezuela; great-power competition; and the evolving international system. His work and perspective have been extensively featured on national and international media outlets, including NPR, CNN, CBS News, MSNBC, PBS, and BBC.

Friedman will join an Atlantic Council that has a rich and varied stable of reports, contributors, and digital publications. Outside contributors from around the world and Atlantic Council staff and fellows across the organization’s 14 programs and centers provide insights, analysis, and policy recommendations through the Council’s published works. 

The flagship blog, the New Atlanticist, is complemented by several regional- and issue-based digital publications and newsletters: EnergySource, MENASource, Ukraine Alert, IranSource, AfricaSource, and Inflection Points, a weekly column written by president and CEO Frederick Kempe. Readership of the New Atlanticist has increased 200 percent in the past 11 weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of views each month among an influential global audience of decision makers and influencers.

For media inquiries, please contact press@atlanticcouncil.org