Press Release
from Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
Cambridge, MA – The Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs has named Tzipi Livni, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice Prime Minister of Israel, a 2019 Fisher Family Fellow.
Over the course of her career in government service, Livni has held critical portfolios, serving as Minister of Justice, Leader of the Opposition in the Knesset, and Minister for the Promotion of the Diplomatic Process. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007. She was also selected for the Quality of Governance Award in 2004 for her unique contribution to reinforcing the rule of law and protecting the principles of democracy.
Livni served as the chief negotiator in the last two rounds of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and is widely known for her promotion of a two-state solution.
“The Fisher Family Fellowship allows us to bring senior global leaders to Harvard,” said Professor Nicholas Burns, Faculty Chair of the Future of Diplomacy Project. “Tzipi Livni has had an extraordinary career in Israeli politics. Her commitment to public service and to peace is well known.”
Livni will be in residence with the Future of Diplomacy Project for two months between September and November and will deliver a public address to the wider Harvard University community. She will lead a multi-part study group to reflect on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and deepen her work on the global protection of democracy in a series of events and book talks with faculty and fellows from the Harvard community. In addition, she will advise the Project’s leadership on the expansion of the Palestinian-Israeli Leadership Initiative aimed at training the next generation of activists and politicians committed to making lasting peace a reality.
The Fellows’ work at Harvard Kennedy School is made possible through The Richard and Nancy Fisher Family Fellows Program, created by Nancy and Richard W. Fisher, AB ’71, long-time supporters of Harvard University’s international engagement and teaching. The fellowship was created in 2010. It brings leading practitioners and thinkers to Harvard to consider the evolving discipline of diplomacy in the context of 21st century challenges.
Recent Fisher Family Fellows include Lindiwe Mazibuko, former Parliamentary Leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance, South Africa (Spring 2019); Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary-General (Fall 2018); Aminata Touré, former Prime Minister of Senegal (Fall 2018); Tawakkol Karman, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner and Yemeni human rights activist (Spring 2017); and Farah Pandith, former U.S. Special Representative to Muslim in Communities (Fall 2014).
Led by Nicholas Burns (Faculty Chair) and Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook (Executive Director), the Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is dedicated to promoting the study and understanding of diplomacy, negotiation, and statecraft in international politics today. The Project aims to build the Kennedy School’s ability to teach in this area, to support research in modern diplomatic practice and to build public understanding of diplomacy’s indispensable role in an increasingly complex and globalized world.