The Belfer Center at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and The Nixon Center are pleased to announce a new Commission on United States Policy toward Russia. The commission will be co-chaired by former Senator Gary Hart (D-CO) and Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE).
The purpose of the commission is to produce a report for the U.S. president-elect, members of Congress, and the interested public offering its best judgments about American national interests and priorities in the U.S.-Russian relationship; explaining why a constructive U.S.-Russia relationship remains critical; and presenting policy recommendations for a new administration to advance America’s national interests in relations with Russia.

In addition to Senators Hagel and Hart, Commission members include:

  • The Hon. Robert Blackwill, Senior Fellow, RAND; former deputy National Security Advisor
  • Gen. Charles G. Boyd (Ret.), President and CEO, Business Executives for National Security; former deputy commander-in-chief, U.S. forces in Europe
  • The Hon. Richard Burt, Managing Director, McLarty Associates; former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs
  • Sarah Carey, Partner, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey; Chair, Eurasia Foundation
  • The Hon. James Collins, Senior Associate and Director of the Russia and Eurasia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; former U.S. Ambassador to Russia
  • Susan Eisenhower, President, The Eisenhower Group, Inc.
  • The Hon. Robert F. Ellsworth, Chairman and Founding Director, Hamilton BioVentures; former Deputy Secretary of Defense and Ambassador to NATO
  • Thomas Graham, Kissinger Associates; former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian Affairs, National Security Council
  • Maurice R. Greenberg, Chairman and CEO, C.V. Starr and Co.
  • The Hon. Lee Hamilton, President and Director, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars; former Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • The Hon. Carla Hills, Chairman and CEO, Hills and Company; former United States Trade Representative
  • The Hon. Jack Matlock, Adjunct Professor, Columbia University; former Ambassador to the U.S.S.R.
  • Robert C. McFarlane, Chairman, McFarlane Associates Inc.; former National Security Advisor
  • Mark Medish, Senior Adviser, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian Affairs, National Security Council
  • The Hon. Sam Nunn, Co-Chairman and CEO, Nuclear Threat Initiative; former United States Senator
  • The Hon. Thomas Pickering, Vice Chairman, Hills and Company; former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Ambassador to Russia
  • Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft (Ret.), President, The Scowcroft Group; former National Security Advisor
  • The Hon. J. Robinson West, Chairman and Founder, PFC Energy; Chairman, United States Institute of Peace
  • The Hon. Dov S. Zakheim, Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton; former Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Defense

The Hon. Graham Allison, Director of The Belfer Center, and Dimitri K. Simes, President of The Nixon Center, will serve as co-directors.  For further information, please contact Paul Saunders, Executive Director of The Nixon Center, at 202-887-1000 or [email protected] or Sasha Talcott of The Belfer Center at 617-495-7831 or
[email protected].
NOTE: Commission members participate strictly in their private capacities.  Institutional affiliations are provided for identification only.