Wendy Sherman on Office Hours

Former Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman, a lead negotiator of the P5+1 Iran Nuclear deal and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center, talks with Aroop Mukharji (@aroopmukharji) about her place in history as the first female Undersecretary of State, Vladimir Putin’s sense of humor, and how many snacks it takes to fuel a negotiating team.

Ambassador Wendy Sherman served as Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. In this global role, she oversaw the bureaus for Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, the Near East, South and Central Asia, the Western Hemisphere, and International Organizations. She also led the U.S. negotiating team and was a central player in reaching a successful conclusion of the Iran nuclear agreement. In recognition of her diplomatic accomplishments, she was awarded the National Security Medal by President Barack Obama.

Ambassador Sherman previously served as Counselor for the State Department (1997-2001), as well as Special Advisor to President Clinton and Policy Coordinator on North Korea. In that role, she worked as a close advisor to then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on every major foreign policy and national security issue, and also managed numerous special assignments including negotiations on nuclear non-proliferation.