Nicholas Burns

Nicholas Burns is a career diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to China from 2022 to 2025, overseeing U.S. government personnel from 48 agencies at the mission to China. During his three-decade career in the U.S. State Department, he held the position of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the department's highest-ranking career Foreign Service position, where he shaped U.S. foreign policy and oversaw regional bureaus. He was also Ambassador to NATO during 9/11, when the Alliance invoked Article 5 and deployed to Afghanistan.