# Derek Chollet

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**Derek Chollet** is an American foreign policy advisor and author who is currently a Managing Director and Head of the [JPMorgan Chase](/source/JPMorgan_Chase) Center for Geopolitics.[3] He is also a Carnegie Distinguished Fellow at [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University)'s Institute of Global Politics.[4] Until January 2025 he had served as chief of staff to the [United States Secretary of Defense](/source/United_States_Secretary_of_Defense). He served as the 35th [counselor of the United States Department of State](/source/Counselor_of_the_United_States_Department_of_State) from 2021 to 2024. Previously, Chollet was the executive vice president for security and defense policy at the [German Marshall Fund of the United States](/source/German_Marshall_Fund_of_the_United_States).[5][6] From 2012 to 2015, Chollet was [Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs](/source/Assistant_Secretary_of_Defense_for_International_Security_Affairs), where he managed U.S. defense policy involving Europe, [NATO](/source/NATO), the Middle East, Africa, and the Western Hemisphere for Secretaries of Defense [Leon Panetta](/source/Leon_Panetta) and [Chuck Hagel](/source/Chuck_Hagel).[7]

## Early life and education

Chollet was born in [Illinois](/source/Illinois) in 1970 and raised in [Lincoln, Nebraska](/source/Lincoln,_Nebraska).[8] He graduated from [Lincoln Southeast High School](/source/Lincoln_Southeast_High_School) in 1989 and has been named a distinguished alumni.[9][10] While in high school he was co-captain of the 1989 Nebraska State Champion High School Swim Team. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government and History from [Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University) in 1993, where he studied with diplomatic historian [Walter LaFeber](/source/Walter_LaFeber) and political scientist [Theodore J. Lowi](/source/Theodore_J._Lowi).[11][12] In 1992, he was the recipient of the [Harry S. Truman Scholarship](/source/Harry_S._Truman_Scholarship).[13] From 1995 to 1999, he studied towards a PhD in political science at [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University), where his mentor was Professor [Robert Jervis](/source/Robert_Jervis), but left early—he says he was "ABD," all-but-dissertation.[14][15][16]

## Career

Chollet started in Washington in 1993, when he was the research assistant to former secretary of state [James A. Baker III](/source/James_Baker) helping him with his memoir, *The Politics of Diplomacy*. In 1996, he was asked by the State Department to write a comprehensive history of the [Dayton Peace Accords](/source/Dayton_Peace_Accords), which was declassified in 2003.[17] From 1997-1998, he assisted former Secretary of State [Warren Christopher](/source/Warren_Christopher) with the research and writing of his memoirs. In 1999 he joined the [Clinton Administration](/source/Clinton_Administration), where he served as chief speechwriter for UN ambassador [Richard Holbrooke](/source/Richard_Holbrooke) and as special advisor to deputy secretary of state [Strobe Talbott](/source/Strobe_Talbott). From 2002 to 2004, Chollet was foreign policy adviser to U.S. senator [John Edwards](/source/John_Edwards) (D-NC), both on his legislative staff and during the 2004 [Kerry-Edwards presidential campaign](/source/John_Kerry_presidential_campaign,_2004).[18]

### Obama Administration

From November 2008 to January 2009, he was a member of the Obama-Biden presidential transition team. From 2009 to 2011, he was the principal deputy director of [secretary of state Hillary Clinton](/source/Hillary_Clinton#U.S._Secretary_of_State)’s policy planning staff. From 2011 to 2012, Chollet served in the [White House Office](/source/White_House_Office) as special assistant to the president and senior director for strategic planning on the [United States National Security Council](/source/United_States_National_Security_Council).

Chollet has been a fellow at the [Center for a New American Security](/source/Center_for_a_New_American_Security) (CNAS), the [Brookings Institution](/source/Brookings_Institution), the [Center for Strategic and International Studies](/source/Center_for_Strategic_and_International_Studies) (CSIS), and the [American Academy in Berlin](/source/American_Academy_in_Berlin). He has been a visiting scholar and adjunct professor at [George Washington University](/source/George_Washington_University) and an adjunct associate professor at [Georgetown University](/source/Georgetown_University).[7]

In addition to assisting Baker with his memoirs, from 1996 to 1999 Chollet assisted former U.S. secretary of state [Warren Christopher](/source/Warren_Christopher) with the research and writing of his books *In the Stream of History and Chances of a Lifetime.* He also aided [Richard Holbrooke](/source/Richard_Holbrooke) in writing his book *To End a War*. In 2001, he assisted [Strobe Talbott](/source/Strobe_Talbott) with his book *The Russia Hand*. Chollet is the author of *The Long Game: How Obama Defied Washington and Redefined America's Role in the World* (Public Affairs, 2016). He was a contributing editor to *[Foreign Policy](/source/Foreign_Policy)*, where he co-edited "Shadow Government," and he was also a regular contributor to *[Defense One](/source/Defense_One)*.[19] He was also an advisor to Beacon Global Strategies and an Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at the [Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies](/source/Arnold_A._Saltzman_Institute_of_War_and_Peace_Studies).

### Biden Administration

In November 2020, Chollet was named a volunteer member of the [Joe Biden presidential transition](/source/Presidential_transition_of_Joe_Biden) agency review team to support transition efforts related to the [United States Department of State](/source/United_States_Department_of_State).[20] Later, he was announced as the [counselor of the United States Department of State](/source/Counselor_of_the_United_States_Department_of_State).[21] While at the State Department, he served as a top advisor to Secretary of State [Antony Blinken](/source/Antony_Blinken) and worked on such issues as the response to the October 7 attacks against Israel, Russia's war against Ukraine, the Balkans, Pakistan, Northern Ireland, and the crisis in Burma.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28]

On July 24, 2023, the Biden administration nominated Chollet to replace [Colin Kahl](/source/Colin_Kahl) as [Under Secretary of Defense for Policy](/source/Under_Secretary_of_Defense_for_Policy), but his nomination was subsequently held up by Senator [Tommy Tuberville](/source/Tommy_Tuberville), R-Alabama.[29]

On March 30, 2024, Chollet met with anti-Myanmar junta representatives from the [Kachin Independence Organization](/source/Kachin_Independence_Organization), [Karen National Union](/source/Karen_National_Union), [Karenni National Progressive Party](/source/Karenni_National_Progressive_Party), and [Chin National Front](/source/Chin_National_Front) to discuss future US relations with a federal Myanmar.[30]

On June 24, 2024, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tapped Chollet to be the Pentagon's Chief of Staff.[31]

### Awards

He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the [Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service](/source/Department_of_Defense_Medal_for_Distinguished_Public_Service), the [Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service](/source/Secretary_of_Defense_Medal_for_Outstanding_Public_Service), the State Department [Superior Honor Award](/source/Superior_Honor_Award), the Latvia Minister of Defense Medal of Honorary Recognition, and the Lithuania Minister of Defense Medal of Merit.

## Publications

Chollet is the author, co-author or co-editor of eight books on [American foreign policy](/source/American_foreign_policy). His commentaries and reviews on U.S. foreign policy and politics have appeared in many other books and publications.

- *The Middle Way: How Three presidents Shaped America's Role in the World* (Oxford University Press, 2021)
- *The Long Game: How Obama Defied Washington and Redefined America's Role in the World* (Public Affairs, 2016)
- *The Road to the Dayton Accords: A Study of American Statecraft* (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005)
- *America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11*, co-authored with [James Goldgeier](/source/James_Goldgeier) (Public Affairs, 2008)
- *The Unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke in the World*, co-edited with [Samantha Power](/source/Samantha_Power) (Public Affairs, 2011)[32]

Chollet has contributed nearly two dozen op-eds[33] to *Defense One,* a national-security publication based in Washington, D.C. He has also written dozens of articles for the [Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post), [Foreign Policy Magazine](/source/Foreign_Policy), [The Atlantic](/source/The_Atlantic), [The National Interest](/source/The_National_Interest), and many other publications.[34][35][36][37]

## References

1. [New Officials Sworn-in at the Department of Defense](https://www.pacom.mil/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/4035639/new-officials-sworn-in-at-the-department-of-defense/) January 21, 2025. United States Indo-Pacific Command.

1. ["Derek H. Chollet"](https://www.state.gov/biographies/derek-h-chollet). *U.S. Department of State*. Retrieved September 2, 2024.

1. Allen, Mike (2025-01-23). ["JPMorgan Chase launches geopolitical advisory unit"](https://www.axios.com/2025/01/23/jpmorgan-chase-geopolitical-advisory-unit). *Axios*. Retrieved 2025-05-18.

1. ["Distinguished Fellows | Institute of Global Politics | SIPA"](https://igp.sipa.columbia.edu/distinguished-fellows). *igp.sipa.columbia.edu*. Retrieved 2025-05-18.

1. ["Chollet joins GMF"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170620131119/http://www.gmfus.org/commentary/department-defense%E2%80%99s-derek-chollet-join-gmf). *The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF)*. Archived from [the original](http://www.gmfus.org/commentary/department-defense%E2%80%99s-derek-chollet-join-gmf) on June 20, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2015.

1. ["Derek Chollet Chosen as GMF Executive Vice President; Daniel Twining Named Counselor"](https://www.gmfus.org/press-releases/derek-chollet-chosen-gmf-executive-vice-president-daniel-twining-named-counselor). *German Marshall Fund of the US*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20201127194141/https://www.gmfus.org/press-releases/derek-chollet-chosen-gmf-executive-vice-president-daniel-twining-named-counselor) November 27, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 9, 2017.

1. ["Derek Chollet"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120915080923/http://policy.defense.gov/OUSDPOffices/ASDforInternationalSecurityAffairs/Leadership.aspx). Archived from [the original](https://policy.defense.gov/OUSDP-Offices/ASD-for-International-Security-Affairs/Leadership/) on September 15, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2015.

1. Morton, Joseph (February 8, 2014). ["Nebraskan, a top Pentagon official, will share foreign policy expertise next week in Lincoln"](https://www.omaha.com/news/nebraskan-a-top-pentagon-official-will-share-foreign-policy-expertise-next-week-in-lincoln/article_94a29828-1e70-5eef-9c4c-e7bda0c06290.html). *Omaha.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200702020725/https://www.omaha.com/news/nebraskan-a-top-pentagon-official-will-share-foreign-policy-expertise-next-week-in-lincoln/article_94a29828-1e70-5eef-9c4c-e7bda0c06290.html) July 2, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-07-02.

1. ["Derek Chollet"](https://web.archive.org/web/20151019204513/http://lse.lps.org/detail.html?id=2093). Archived from [the original](http://lse.lps.org/detail.html?id=2093) on October 19, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.

1. ["Distinguished Alumni – Southeast High School"](https://lse.lps.org/distinguished-alumni/). Retrieved 2025-05-24.

1. ["President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts"](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/16/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts). *[White House](/source/White_House)*. March 16, 2012. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200702020723/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/16/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts) July 2, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-07-02.

1. ["Legacy of Cornell-led diplomacy detailed at Carnegie Hall | Cornell Chronicle"](https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2016/03/legacy-cornell-led-diplomacy-detailed-carnegie-hall). *news.cornell.edu*. Retrieved 2025-05-24.

1. ["Derek Chollet"](http://www.truman.gov/search-our-scholars?field_profile_name_at_award_value=Chollet&field_profile_selection_year_value=&field_profile_selection_state_tid=All&field_institution_name_value=). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093123/http://www.truman.gov/search-our-scholars?field_profile_name_at_award_value=Chollet&field_profile_selection_year_value=&field_profile_selection_state_tid=All&field_institution_name_value=) March 4, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 3, 2015.

1. ["Derek Chollet"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131005083424/http://www.nationaljournal.com/decision-makers/security/derek-chollet-assistant-secretary-international-security-affairs-20130716). Archived from [the original](http://www.nationaljournal.com/decision-makers/security/derek-chollet-assistant-secretary-international-security-affairs-20130716) on October 5, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2015.

1. ["Derek Chollet"](https://warontherocks.com/2022/07/remembering-robert-jervis-part-ii/). Retrieved August 3, 2015.

1. ["Remembering Robert Jervis, Part I"](https://warontherocks.com/2022/07/remembering-robert-jervis-part-i/). *War on the Rocks*. 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2025-05-18.

1. ["The Secret History of Dayton."](http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB171/). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150806184026/http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB171/) August 6, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 3, 2015.

1. ["Key People-Former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC)"](https://p2008.org/edwards/edwardsorg.html). *p2008.org*. Retrieved 2025-05-24.

1. ["Derek Chollet"](http://cdn.defenseone.com/defenseone/interstitial.html?v=2.1.1&rf=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.defenseone.com%2Fvoices%2Fderek-chollet%2F8989%2F). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160305153242/http://cdn.defenseone.com/defenseone/interstitial.html?v=2.1.1&rf=http://www.defenseone.com/voices/derek-chollet/8989/) March 5, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 19, 2015.

1. ["Agency Review Teams"](https://web.archive.org/web/20220828180800/https://www.whitehouse.gov/). *President-Elect Joe Biden*. Archived from [the original](https://buildbackbetter.com/the-transition/agency-review-teams/) on August 28, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2020.

1. ["Lincoln Southeast graduate will play key foreign policy role in Biden's new administration"](https://journalstar.com/news/local/lincoln-southeast-graduate-will-play-key-foreign-policy-role-in-bidens-new-administration/article_202e5631-83fe-5a6c-9a40-04ff33782bb2.html). *Lincoln Journal Star*. January 19, 2021. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210202184600/https://journalstar.com/news/local/lincoln-southeast-graduate-will-play-key-foreign-policy-role-in-bidens-new-administration/article_202e5631-83fe-5a6c-9a40-04ff33782bb2.html) February 2, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 2, 2021.

1. ["Remembering Robert Jervis, Part I"](https://warontherocks.com/2022/07/remembering-robert-jervis-part-i/). *War on the Rocks*. 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2025-05-18.

1. ["A year of war in Ukraine with State Dept counselor Derek Chollet — "Intelligence Matters" - CBS News"](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-russia-1-year-state-dept-derek-chollet-intelligence-matters/). *www.cbsnews.com*. 2023-02-22. Retrieved 2025-05-18.

1. ["Normalization Will Require Difficult Choices By Both Kosovo And Serbia, U.S. Envoy Says"](https://www.rferl.org/a/32231275.html). *Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty*. 2023-01-20. Retrieved 2025-05-18.

1. ["Derek Chollet: US official meets Stormont parties over NI Protocol"](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-63201671). 2022-10-10. Retrieved 2025-05-18.

1. ["Derek Chollet on How the US Is Handling the Myanmar Crisis"](https://thediplomat.com/2023/03/derek-chollet-on-how-the-us-is-handling-the-myanmar-crisis/). *thediplomat.com*. Retrieved 2025-05-18.

1. ["U.S. stands by as a partner to help as Khan's arrest adds to Pakistan's turmoil"](https://www.npr.org/2023/05/10/1175165435/u-s-stands-by-as-a-partner-to-help-as-khans-arrest-adds-to-pakistans-turmoil). *NPR*. Retrieved 2025-05-18.

1. ["On the Departure of Derek Chollet and Appointment of Tom Sullivan as Counselor"](https://2021-2025.state.gov/on-the-departure-of-derek-chollet-and-appointment-of-tom-sullivan-as-counselor/). *United States Department of State*. Retrieved 2025-05-24.

1. ["Chollet Nominated to Replace Kahl in Pentagon Policy Shop"](https://defensecommunities.org/2023/07/chollet-nominated-to-replace-kahl-in-pentagon-policy-shop/#:~:text=President%20Biden%20on%20Tuesday%20nominated,works%20at%20the%20State%20Department.). July 26, 2023. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230731075114/https://defensecommunities.org/2023/07/chollet-nominated-to-replace-kahl-in-pentagon-policy-shop/#:~:text=President%20Biden%20on%20Tuesday%20nominated,works%20at%20the%20State%20Department.) July 31, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 26, 2023.

1. [မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီနိုင်ငံဖြစ်ပေါ်ရေး ကြိုးပမ်းနေသော KIA ၊ KNU ၊ KNPP နှင့် CNF ခေါင်းဆောင်များနှင့် အမေရိကန်နိုင်ငံခြားရေးအတိုင်ပင်ခံ တွေ့ဆုံဆွေးနွေး](https://yktnews.com/2024/03/153854/) March 30, 2024. [Khit Thit Media](/source/Khit_Thit_Media). (in Burmese) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240409040305/https://yktnews.com/2024/03/153854/) April 9, 2024 at the Wayback Machine

1. Ryan, Missy (2024-06-24). ["Austin taps top State Department adviser as Pentagon chief of staff"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/06/24/austin-chollet-pentagon-chief-staff/). *Washington Post*. [ISSN 0190-8286](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0190-8286). Retrieved 2024-06-24.

1. ["Book Review: The Unquiet American"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-the-unquiet-american-richard-holbrooke-in-the-world/2011/10/10/gIQA95S6CN_story.html). *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150619175554/http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-the-unquiet-american-richard-holbrooke-in-the-world/2011/10/10/gIQA95S6CN_story.html) June 19, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 19, 2015.

1. [Derek Chollet's op-eds](https://www.defenseone.com/voices/derek-chollet/8989/)

1. Chollet, Derek (2018-07-04). ["Opinion | Why isn’t Trump bragging about his NATO successes?"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-isnt-trump-bragging-about-his-nato-successes/2018/07/04/d770631e-7ecd-11e8-b660-4d0f9f0351f1_story.html). *The Washington Post*. [ISSN 0190-8286](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0190-8286). Retrieved 2025-05-24.

1. Chollet, Derek (2025-05-22). ["Derek Chollet"](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/derek-chollet/). *Foreign Policy*. Retrieved 2025-05-24.

1. ["Derek Chollet, The Atlantic"](https://www.theatlantic.com/author/derek-chollet/). *The Atlantic*. 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2025-05-24.

1. ["Derek Chollet"](https://nationalinterest.org/profile/derek-chollet). *The National Interest*. 2019-08-11. Retrieved 2025-05-24.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Derek Chollet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Chollet) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Chollet?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.