Kurt Campbell

Kurt Campbell

Kurt Michael Campbell served as the United States deputy secretary of state from 2024 to 2025. He previously served as deputy assistant advisor to President Joe Biden.

Bio

From the Center for a New American Security website:

Kurt M. Campbell was confirmed by the Senate on February 6, 2024, and sworn in as the 22nd Deputy Secretary of State on February 12, 2024. Prior to assuming this position, Deputy Secretary Campbell served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs on the National Security Council. He was previously founding Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Asia Group, LLC, a strategic advisory and capital management group. From 2009 to 2013, Campbell served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Earlier, he was the CEO and Co-Founder of the Center for a New American Security and concurrently served as the Director of the Aspen Strategy Group and Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Washington Quarterly. Among the other positions he has held during his distinguished career, Campbell served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs, White House Fellow at the Treasury Department, and as Director of the Democracy Office at the National Security Council during the Clinton Administration. Campbell was an Associate Professor of Public Policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and served in the U.S. Navy Reserves. He is the author or editor of ten books including The Pivot: The Future of American Statecraft in Asia, Difficult Transitions: Why Presidents Fail in Foreign Policy at the Outset of Power, and Hard Power: The New Politics of National Security. He received his B.A. from the University of California, San Diego and his Doctorate in international relations from Brasenose College at Oxford University where he was a Distinguished Marshall Scholar. Campbell is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award.

2025 Washington China Forum

Kurt Campbell was listed as an attendee to the 2025 Washington China Forum, "a collaborative effort between the Council on Foreign Relations’ China Strategy Initiative and the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy’s 21st Century China Center.,

Washington Leadership Dialogue

July 2010 By Jane Leung Larson, a delegation of 16 Committee of 100 members led by C-100 Chairman John Chen spent two intense days exchanging views with a number of government officials on U.S.-China relations, Chinese language teaching in the schools, and the unique resources and connections that the Committee brings to the table.

The June 23-24 Washington Leadership Dialogue was organized to give the Committee of 100 an opportunity to hear the concerns of members of Congress and the Administration as well as share observations and recommendations with Washington policy-makers on a variety of issues.

Of special interest was the Committee’s work in the past year with the U.S. State Department at the highest levels (Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) to support and promote the USA Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai and build the Pavilion’s most popular exhibit, “The Chinese in America.” Also emphasized was the Committee’s long-time commitment to education, particularly C-100 activities in both northern and southern California to support the teaching of Chinese language and culture in public schools.

Private meetings were held with Jeff Bader (Senior Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council), Chris Lu (Assistant to the President and White House Cabinet Secretary), Kurt Campbell (Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs), Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA), and Senator Daniel Inouye (HI), all of whom have participated in Committee of 100 annual conferences. The Administration’s goal of sending 100,000 American students to China in the next four years was the topic of discussion with a group of top officials from the Departments of Education and State.

The Committee also met with Co-chairs of the House U.S.-China Working Group (Reps. Rick Larsen and Charles Boustany) and members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (Reps. Judy Chu, Mike Honda, and David Wu). One of the topics discussed with the Caucus was a possible Congressional resolution of apology for the Chinese Exclusion Act. A briefing was held with Christina Lagdameo, Deputy Director of the White House Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative co-chaired by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

In addition to Chairman Chen, C-100 members participating in the Dialogue were: C-100 Vice Chairs David Chang, Daniel Chao, Doreen Woo Ho, Ming Chen Hsu, Clarence T. Kwan, Stewart Kwoh, and Cheng Li and members Richard Cheng, Michael Fung, Harry Gee, Jr., Charlie Sie, Benjamin Wu, Debra Wong Yang, Alice Young, and Nancy Yuan. Members came from across the U.S. to join the delegation. Coordinating Dialogue logistics and attending the meetings were C-100 staff members Executive Director Angie Tang, Public Relations Director An Ping, and Program Associate Alice Lin.

On June 23, the Committee also held a dinner to welcome the new Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. (and an old friend of the Committee), Zhang Yesui. Committee of 100 Advisory Council members David M. Lampton and Stapleton Roy also met with the delegation to discuss how the organization can enhance its presence in Washington.

Obama appointment

In April 2009 Kurt Campbell was nominatedby the Obama administration for the position of Assistant Secretary for East Asian Affairs in the DOS and confirmed in June 2009.