Julianne Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 25thUnited States Ambassador to NATO | |
| In office December 6, 2021 – October 23, 2024[1] | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Kay Bailey Hutchison |
| Succeeded by | Scott M. Oudkirk (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1970 |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Xavier University (BA) American University (MA) |
Julianne Smith is an American foreign policy advisor and diplomat who served as theUnited States Permanent Representative to NATO in theBiden administration from 2021 until 2024.[2] She previously served as deputy national security advisor to then-Vice President Biden in theObama administration.
Smith earned aBachelor of Arts in communications and French fromXavier University and a Master of Arts in international relations fromAmerican University. She also studied French at the University of Paris, Sorbonne for a year and German at theLudwig Maximilian University of Munich for one year.[3]
From 2000 to 2003, Smith worked as a program officer at theGerman Marshall Fund. She then joined theCenter for Strategic and International Studies as a senior fellow,[4] where among other accomplishments in November 2006 she editedTransforming NATO (...again) - A Primer for the NATO Summit in Riga 2006,[5] and in 2008 she publishedThe NATO-Russia Relationship: Defining Moment or Déjà Vu?.[6]
From 2009 to 2012, she served as the director of European andNATO policy at theUnited States Department of Defense, where she co-wrote the 2010NATO Strategic Concept document,[7] under SecretaryRobert Gates and Secretary of StateHillary Clinton.
From April 2012 to June 2013, she served as deputy national security advisor to then-Vice PresidentJoe Biden.[8]
From 2014 to 2018, she worked at theCenter for a New American Security. She was also a fellow at theRobert Bosch Stiftung for one year. A senior advisor post atWestExec Advisors followed the consultancy's formation in 2017.
Smith co-founded theLeadership Council for Women in National Security,[9][10] which officially launched on 25 June 2019.[11]
She worked as an advisor to a Germanconsultancy calledBerlin Global Advisors and worked at theAmerican Academy in Berlin,[12][13] while she penned such essays in foreign policy magazines as "NATO in the Age of Trump".[14]
A 2021 investigation inThe American Prospect found that Smith, "who listedBoeing andSoftBank as clients, earned $34,000 as a WestExec consultant while holding down a full-time role at the think tankGerman Marshall Fund."[15]
In January 2021, Smith became a senior advisor to theUnited States secretary of state.[16]
On June 15, 2021, PresidentJoe Biden nominated Smith to serve as theUnited States permanent representative to NATO.[16] On September 15, 2021, a hearing on her nomination was held before theSenate Foreign Relations Committee. On October 19, 2021, her nomination was reported favorably out of committee.[17] Her nomination was confirmed byUnited States Senate on November 18, 2021 byvoice vote.[18]
Smith has written op-ed columns forThe New York Times,Lawfare,Washington Monthly,Foreign Affairs, andThe National Interest.[19] She has also appeared onNPR programs, including1A,All Things Considered, andMorning Edition.[20][21][22]
Smith speaksGerman andFrench.[16] She and her husband have two sons.[23]
