Skip to main content

The German Marshall Fund of the United States

  • Who we are
    • Programs
      • Alliance for Securing Democracy
      • Asia Program
      • Balkan Trust for Democracy
      • Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation
      • Congressional Affairs
      • Europe Program
      • Fund for Belarus Democracy
      • Future of Geopolitics
      • GMF Cities
      • GMF Digital
      • Leadership Programs
      • Mediterranean Program
      • Security and Defense
    • Offices
      • Ankara
      • Belgrade
      • Berlin
      • Brussels
      • Bucharest
      • Paris
      • Warsaw
      • Washington, DC
    • About Us
    • Marshall Plan
    • Our Partners
  • Experts
  • Events
    Jan
    21
    Upcoming Event

    The U.S.-EU Relationship in 2021 and Beyond - What Can We Expect From the Biden Administration?

    January 21, 2021 | 9:00AM to 10:00AM EST
    • Major Conferences & Forums
      GMF brings together hundreds of policymakers, elected officials, academics, and business leaders from around the world to discuss topics from energy to migration, economics to security, urban growth to diplomacy.
    All Events →
  • Our Work
    • Topics
      • America
      • Asia
      • Europe
      • Cities and Regions
      • Security
      • Trade and Economies
      • All Topics
    • Research
      • Publications
      • Transatlantic Takes
    • Perspectives
      • Audio
      • Video
      • Blog post
      • In The News
  • Stay Informed
@derekchollet
Staff
Expert

Derek Chollet

Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor for Security and Defense Policy
Washington, DC
Expertise: 
Policy, Security and Defense, NATO, Syria, Turkey, Russia, Terrorism, U.S. National Security Policy, Global Defense Strategy, Transatlantic Defense Cooperation
Related Topics: 
NATO, Security and Defense Program, NATO Warsaw Summit, Congressional and Parliamentary Testimonies, Understanding America, Future of the Liberal International Order, The Marshall Plan, All Eyes on Germany — Forming a Government

Derek Chollet is currently on a leave of absence. 

Derek Chollet is executive vice president and senior advisor for security and defense policy at The German Marshall Fund of the United States. He is also a visiting fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House, a senior fellow at the Kissinger Center at Johns Hopkins SAIS, an adjunct senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, and an advisor to Beacon Global Strategies. His next book, The Middle Way: How Three Presidents Shaped America’s Role in the World, will be published in 2021 by Oxford University Press.

From 2012-2015, Mr. Chollet was the U.S. assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, where he managed U.S. defense policy toward Europe (including NATO), the Middle East, Africa, and the Western Hemisphere. In that role, he was a senior advisor to two secretaries of defense, Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel.

Prior to joining the Pentagon, Mr. Chollet served at the White House as special assistant to the president and senior director for strategic planning on the National Security Council staff. From 2009 to 2011, he was the principal deputy director of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s policy planning staff. From November 2008 to January 2009, he was a member of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team.

During the Clinton administration, Mr. Chollet served as chief speechwriter for UN Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, and as special adviser to Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott. From 2002 to 2004, he was foreign policy adviser to U.S. Senator John Edwards (D-NC), both on his legislative staff and during the 2004 Kerry-Edwards presidential campaign.

Mr. Chollet has been a fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), the Brookings Institution, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and the American Academy in Berlin. He has been a visiting scholar and adjunct professor at the George Washington University and an adjunct associate professor at Georgetown University. He also assisted former Secretaries of State James A. Baker III and Warren Christopher, as well as Holbrooke and Talbott, with the research and writing of their memoirs.

Mr. Chollet is author, co-author, or co-editor of seven books on U.S. foreign policy, including The Long Game: How Obama Defied Washington and Redefined America’s Role in the World (PublicAffairs, 2016), America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11, co-authored with James Goldgeier (PublicAffairs, 2008), and The Unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke in the World, co-edited with Samantha Power (PublicAffairs, 2011), and his commentaries and reviews on U.S. foreign policy and politics have appeared in many other books and publications.

He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the U.S. Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the U.S. Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, the U.S. State Department Superior Honor Award, the Latvia Minister of Defense Medal of Honorary Recognition, and the Lithuania Minister of Defense Medal of Merit.

Photo by Lynne Edelstein

Press Queries

Members of the media are invited to contact us by email:

[email protected]

Download

High Res Photo

Featured Work

Photo credit: Owen_Holdaway / Shutterstock

In the News

Russians, Guns, and Mosul

Jul 12, 2017 | By Derek Chollet

Photo credit: Grand Warszawa / Shutterstock

In the News

Donald Trump Has Made America a Back-Row Kid

Jul 7, 2017 | By Derek Chollet, Julie Smith

Photo credit: Andrew Cline / Shutterstock

In the News

Trump’s First 6 Months Were Terrible, But He Got 3 Things Right

Jul 21, 2017 | By Derek Chollet

Most Recent Content

Policy Brief

The Transatlantic Division of Labor: A Washington Perspective

Jun 1, 2015 | By Derek Chollet
Report

Longstanding Partners in Changing Times: Report of the Task Force on the Future of German-American Relations

May 29, 2015 | By Karen Donfried, Derek Chollet, Daniela Schwarzer, Sudha David-Wilp, Rachel Tausendfreund
In the News

Well, what is the GOP’s Iraq strategy?

May 21, 2015 | By Derek Chollet

Pages

  • «
  • ‹
  • …
  • Page 31
  • Page 32
  • Page 33
  • Page 34
  • Page 35
  • Currently on page 36
  • Page 37
  • Page 38
  • Page 39
  • ›
  • »
Strengthening Transatlantic Cooperation

Our Organization

  • About GMF
  • Career Opportunities
  • Our Partners
  • Press Room
  • Support Our Work
  • Core Values

Our Work

  • Leadership
  • Policy
  • Civil Society
  • Research & Analysis

Our Experts

  • Find an Expert

Follow

  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Diversity Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Credits

Stay Informed

Don’t miss out on the latest from GMF. Sign up to receive emailed newsletters, announcements, and event notifications.

Subscribe