Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 20 minutes ago
On April 8, 2021, Nicholas Burns delivered the 2021 Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Jr. Lecture on International Studies as the flagbearer of the United States Foreign Service, in which he served for more than 30 years.
Ambassador Burns was U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (2005-2008) and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and Greece. He now teaches at Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
The Biddle Lecture is a bi-annual event organized by the Duke Center for International and Global Studies (DUCIGS) and established by Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, James H. Semans, and their family to honor Mrs. Semans' father, Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr., who had a distinguished career as a United States diplomat and was an original signer of The Duke Endowment. This lecture series symbolizes Duke University's continuing commitment to promoting international understanding and public service.
Duke’s Senior Advisor for Global Affairs and former US Ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy introduced Ambassador Burns along with DUCIGS' director, Dr.Giovanni Zanalda.
In his talk, titled "A Time for Diplomacy," Ambassador Burns urged the U.S. to restore its diplomatic power on the global stage in service of big ideas. And “the ultimate big idea throughout human history has been the search for a state of peace,” he said.
Mary Duke Trent Jones greeted Ambassador Burns through pre-recorded remarks, where she reflected on the long and distinguished career of her grandfather, Ambassador Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr.
The event was organized by the Duke Center for International and Global Studies' Rethinking Diplomacy Program, and co-sponsored by the Duke Center for American Grand Strategy (AGS.)
Read the article "Peace Still Ultimate Goal of Diplomacy" with the lecture recap:
https://www.today.duke.edu/2021/04/peace-still-ultimate-goal-diplomacy
Learn more about the Biddle Lecture Series:
https://igs.duke.edu/biddle-lecture-speaker-archives-0
On April 8, 2021, Nicholas Burns delivered the 2021 Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Jr. Lecture on International Studies as the flagbearer of the United States Foreign Service, in which he served for more than 30 years.
Ambassador Burns was U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (2005-2008) and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and Greece. He now teaches at Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
The Biddle Lecture is a bi-annual event organized by the Duke Center for International and Global Studies (DUCIGS) and established by Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, James H. Semans, and their family to honor Mrs. Semans' father, Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr., who had a distinguished career as a United States diplomat and was an original signer of The Duke Endowment. This lecture series symbolizes Duke University's continuing commitment to promoting international understanding and public service.
Duke’s Senior Advisor for Global Affairs and former US Ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy introduced Ambassador Burns along with DUCIGS' director, Dr.Giovanni Zanalda.
In his talk, titled "A Time for Diplomacy," Ambassador Burns urged the U.S. to restore its diplomatic power on the global stage in service of big ideas. And “the ultimate big idea throughout human history has been the search for a state of peace,” he said.
Mary Duke Trent Jones greeted Ambassador Burns through pre-recorded remarks, where she reflected on the long and distinguished career of her grandfather, Ambassador Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr.
The event was organized by the Duke Center for International and Global Studies' Rethinking Diplomacy Program, and co-sponsored by the Duke Center for American Grand Strategy (AGS.)
Read the article "Peace Still Ultimate Goal of Diplomacy" with the lecture recap:
https://www.today.duke.edu/2021/04/peace-still-ultimate-goal-diplomacy
Learn more about the Biddle Lecture Series:
https://igs.duke.edu/biddle-lecture-speaker-archives-0
