General Jim Mattis on Learning to Lead
General Jim Mattis, former US Secretary of Defense, delivered the inaugural Lester Crown Distinguished Lecture on US Foreign Policy and shared insights on US national security priorities.
About This Event
From Marine recruit, to Four Star General and Secretary of Defense, General Jim Mattis has witnessed the transformation of the United States' national security outlook since the end of the Cold War. Protecting the nation and its global interest in this rapidly changing threat environment has required that the US military continually evolve its training, technology, and tactics, and Mattis' career at the heart of this process has shaped his leadership philosophy. He delivered the inaugural Lester Crown Distinguished Lecture on US Foreign Policy and then joined Council President Ivo Daalder in a conversation on lessons and his perspective on US national security priorities.
About the Speakers
Jim Mattis
26th US Secretary of Defense
James Norman Mattis is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 26th US secretary of defense from January 2017 through January 2019. From 2010 to 2013, he served as Commander of US Central Command including all US forces in the Middle East. A native of the Pacific Northwest, he is currently the Davies Family Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
CEO, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Ivo H. Daalder served as the US ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013. He joined the Council as president in 2013 and took on the new role of CEO in 2023. Previously, he was a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution and served as director for European affairs on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council. He is the author or editor of 10 books.
Crown Center Content
This content is produced by the Lester Crown Center, which aims to shape debates and inform decisions on important US foreign policy and national security issues.