This is the seventh annual John Gee Memorial Lecture, previous speakers include the Hon Malcolm Fraser, Ahmet Uzumcu, Professor Ramesh Thakur and ANU Chancellor, Professor Gareth Evans.
Ambassador Christopher Hill will discuss how the presence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) shape and influence the US rebalance to Asia. He will highlight recent efforts to engage with North Korea, and outline the latest dynamics between a rising China, the two Korea's and Japan and how the presence and threat of WMD affects these issues. He will also examine ways Australia may contribute to keeping the Indo-Pacific free from further WMD proliferation.
About the speaker
Ambassador Christopher Robert Hill is Dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. In addition to overseeing the Josef Korbel School, Ambassador Hill is the author of Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy: A Memoir, a monthly columnist for Project Syndicate, and a highly sought public speaker and voice in the media on international affairs.
Ambassador Hill is a former career diplomat, a four-time ambassador, nominated by three presidents, whose last post was as Ambassador to Iraq (2009 - 2010). Prior to Iraq, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (2005 - 2009) during which he was also the head of the US delegation to the Six-Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. Earlier, he was the US Ambassador to the Republic of Korea.
Previously he served as US Ambassador to Poland (2000 - 2004), Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia (1996 - 1999) and Special Envoy to Kosovo (1998 - 1999). He also served as a Special Assistant to the President and a Senior Director on the staff of the National Security Council (1999 - 2000). Earlier in his Foreign Service career, Ambassador Hill served tours in Belgrade, Warsaw, Seoul, and Tirana, and on the Department of State's Policy Planning staff and in the Department's Operation Center. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Ambassador Hill served as a Peace Corps volunteer where he supervised credit unions in rural Cameroon, West Africa.
While on a fellowship with the American Political Science Association he served as a staff member for Congressman Stephen Solarz working on Eastern European issues. He also served as the Department of State's Senior Country Officer for Poland. Ambassador Hill received the State Department's Distinguished Service Award for his contributions as a member of the US negotiating team in the Bosnia peace settlement and was a recipient of the Robert S. Frasure Award for Peace Negotiations for his work on the Kosovo crisis.