In 2013 the Lowy Institute established its Distinguished International Fellowship to bring an internationally recognised intellectual and policy leader to Australia to help deepen our debate on global issues. While in Australia, the Distinguished International Fellow undertakes an extensive program of meetings, speeches and media appearances.

2023 Rothschild & Co Distinguished International Fellow

The 2023 Rothschild & Co Distinguished International Fellow was Shivshankar Menon. Menon served as India's National Security Adviser from 2010 to 2014, prior to which he held the roles of Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to several key capitals, including Beijing and Islamabad. He is widely respected for his insights into global geopolitics and has worked at the highest levels of world politics, including with leaders such as Barack Obama and Xi Jinping. Menon visited Australia in October 2023 for a series of Lowy Institute engagements in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.

2022 Rothschild & Co Distinguished International Fellow

The 2022 Rothschild & Co Distinguished International Fellow was Gideon Rachman. Gideon Rachman has been the Chief Foreign Affairs Columnist at the Financial Times since 2006. He joined the FT after a 15-year career at The Economist, which included assignments as a foreign correspondent in Brussels, Washington, DC, and Bangkok. He has also edited the business and Asia sections of The Economist. His most recent book, published in 2022, is titled The Age of the Strongman: How the cult of leader threatens democracy around the world. Rachman visited Australia in November 2022 for a series of Lowy Institute engagements in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.

2019 Rothschild & Co Distinguished International Fellow

The 2019 Rothschild & Co Distinguished International Fellow was Professor Nicholas Burns. Nicholas Burns is Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School, a former diplomat, and is a foreign policy advisor in Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. Professor Burns visited Australia in October 2019 for a series of Lowy Institute engagements in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.

2017 Telstra Distinguished International Fellow

The 2017 Telstra Distinguished International Fellow was Jake Sullivan.

He was senior foreign policy adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election campaign. Sullivan had earlier served as senior aide to President Obama, national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden and Director of Policy Planning at the US Department of State, as well as deputy chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In 2013 Sullivan launched and co-led the secret negotiations with Iran about its nuclear program, paving the way for the November 2013 nuclear agreement.

• “Those worried about the United States being sucked into a new military confrontation under the Trump administration are looking in the wrong direction, Jake Sullivan believes” Deborah Snow, Sydney Morning Herald
• “Jake Sullivan ... said allies like Australia had to take on responsibility to ‘buck up’ America to remain engaged in the Asia-Pacific” Andrew Tillett, Australian Financial Review
• “Trump’s victory reflected an underlying concern in the American electorate that our foreign policy is not as connected to the everyday concerns of Americans as it should be ... but I do not believe that it is a rejection of America’s role in the world or America’s global leadership” Jake Sullivan speaking to ABC RN Between The Lines’ Tom Switzer

2016 Telstra Distinguished International Fellow

The 2016 Telstra Distinguished International Fellow was David Ignatius.

He is a columnist on world affairs for the Washington Post and the author of eight novels, the latest being The Director in 2014.

• Watch David Ignatius being interviewed by Leigh Sales on ABC’s 7:30 program
• “America’s days as a unilateral, go-it-alone superpower are finished, but American power survives to the extent that we are leaders of the emerging multipolar system.” David Ignatius writing in the Australian Financial Review
• Watch David Ignatius being interviewed by RN’s Tom Switzer on Between the Lines
• “If the TPP goes down, the US-led trade system that you have bet on is in trouble” Sydney Morning Herald’s Nick O'Malley interviews David Ignatius

2015 Telstra Distinguished International Fellow

The 2015 Telstra Distinguished International Fellow was former Foreign Secretary of India Shyam Saran.

Ambassador Saran is a career diplomat, having joinined the Indian Foreign Service in 1970. He has been India’s Ambassador to Myanmar, Indonesia and Nepal and High Commissioner to Mauritius. He was appointed India’s Foreign Secretary in 2004 and held that position until his retirement from service in September 2006. Subsequent to his retirement, he was appointed Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Indo-US civil nuclear issues and later as Special Envoy and Chief Negotiator on Climate Change. Currently, Ambassador Saran is Chairman of the National Security Advisory Board under the National Security Council.

Read the press release.

• Watch Ambassador Saran being interviewed by RN’s Fran Kelly on Breakfast
• “We are witnessing the relentless dismantling of the post-World War II global order created and dominated by the US and its Western allies” Ambassador Saran in The Australian on India’s global role
• Paris – the Indian perspective Ambassador Saran in conversation with Radio National’s Tom Switzer on Between the Lines

2014 Telstra Distinguished International Fellow

The 2014 Telstra Distinguished International Fellow was former US National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, Stephen J. Hadley.

Mr Hadley was a key member of the Bush Administration’s national security team in the midst of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and he helped shape the Administration’s landmark initiative to develop a strategic relationship with India. More recently, he has been a prominent voice in debates about US-China relations.

Read the press release.

2013 Distinguished International Fellow

In 2013, the inaugural Distinguished International Fellow was Dr Kurt Campbell.

A former US diplomat, Dr Campbell most recently served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, where he was a key architect of the ‘rebalance to Asia’ strategy.