Ambassador Julianne Smith is a national security expert with three decades of experience in U.S. and European defense policy, transatlantic relations, and geostrategic risk.
She has held senior leadership positions at the White House, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State where she has shaped NATO’s response to the Ukraine war, advanced U.S.-European economic and military partnerships, and addressed global security challenges stemming from China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia
Most recently, Smith served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO (2021–2024), where she played a pivotal role in securing Allied support for Ukraine, coordinating intelligence sharing with Allies, and finalizing Finland and Sweden’s accession to the Alliance. She also led efforts to integrate China into NATO’s Strategic Concept.
During the Obama administration, Smith served as Acting National Security Advisor and Deputy National Security Advisor to Vice President Joseph Biden. Prior to that role, she served as the Principal Director for European and NATO Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Her career spans influential roles at think tanks such as the German Marshall Fund, the Center for a New American Security, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she published extensively on grand strategy, Russia, counter-terrorism, and China’s deepening relationships in Europe.