The Center for the National Interest Celebrates its 25th Anniversary

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On Wednesday, December 4, the Center for the National Interest celebrated the 25th anniversary of its founding at a gala dinner hosted at the Four Seasons hotel in Washington, DC. On this occasion, a group of over two hundred high-ranking government officials, members of Congress from both parties, and ambassadors, as well as prominent journalists and academics, gathered to celebrate the Center’s twenty-five years of support for strategic realism and to discuss the foreign policy challenges facing the United States in the decades to come.

The dinner featured a thought-provoking interview of former Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger conducted by former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen. In addition to being members of the Center’s board of directors, Dr. Kissinger and Admiral Mullen are both among the most respected contemporary practitioners of American foreign policy in recent memory, and were able to offer their insights on the rise of China, America’s relationship to its European allies, and the role that impeachment proceedings can play in influencing American foreign policy.

Furthermore, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky delivered insightful concluding remarks about the Center’s important role in shaping the broader American foreign policy discussion by promoting innovative new perspectives on longstanding international relations challenges.

Other speakers at the dinner included General Charles G. Boyd (Chairman of the Center’s board of directors), Drew Guff (Managing Director of Siguler Guff and Vice Chairman of the Center’s board of directors who served as the chair of the dinner), Dr. Graham Allison (the Douglas Dillon Professor of Government at Harvard University who also serves as a member of the Center’s board of directors), and Dimitri K. Simes (founding President & CEO of the Center for the National Interest). The emcee of the event was Jacob Heilbrunn, Editor of The National Interest.

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) delivers remarks while former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger looks on.
Dr. Graham Allison (Harvard University) discusses the history of the Center for the National Interest.
Admiral Michael Mullen arrives at the event and is greeted by Center Chief of Staff Matt Reisener.
Dimitri Simes, President & CEO of the Center for the National Interest, addresses the crowd.