Christopher Robert Hill (born August 10, 1952) is an American diplomat who had served as United States Ambassador to Serbia. Previously, he was George W. Ball Adjunct Professor at Columbia University in the City of New York, the Chief Advisor to the Chancellor for Global Engagement and Professor of the Practice in Diplomacy at the University of Denver. Prior to this position, he was the Dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the university, a position he held from September 2010 to December 2017.
Education and Peace Corps service Hill's father was a diplomat in the Foreign Service: Hill was born in Paris, and as a child, he traveled with his family to many countries. After American diplomats were expelled from Haiti, Hill's family moved to Little Compton, Rhode Island"He's the voice of America in talks with North Korea" by John Mulligan. The Providence Journal. April 14, 2008. where Hill attended Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island, graduating in 1970."Diplomat Hill's job is to solicit trust." Providence Journal. June 8, 2007. He then went on to study at Bowdoin College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1974."Podcast by Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill '74." Bowdoin University. February 16, 2007.
Hill was a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon from 1974 to 1976. Hill credits his work with the Peace Corps for teaching him his first lessons in diplomacy. As a volunteer, Hill worked with credit unions and when he discovered that one board of directors had stolen 60 percent of their members' money, he reported on the malfeasance to their members, who promptly re-elected them because the board reflected carefully balanced tribal interests and it really did not matter to the members if the board directors ran a good credit union or not. Hill said the lesson was that "When something's happened, it's happened for a reason and you do your best to understand that reason. But don't necessarily think you can change it.""Longtime Statesman Puts Best Face Forward for U.S." by Glenn Kessler. The Washington Post. September 21, 2005. Hill took the Foreign Service exam while he was serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon.
Hill received a master's degree from the Naval War College in 1994."Biography of Christopher R. Hill, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs U.S. Department of State He speaks Polish, Serbo-Croatian and Macedonian.
Diplomacy Hill joined the State Department in 1977."U.S. envoy ready for challenges." The Korea Herald. August 14, 2005. Hill served as Secretary for Economic Affairs at the Embassy of the United States in Seoul from 1983 to 1985. When he returned to Korea in 2004 as Ambassador, he began by saying "I was here for three years in the 1980s, one has to be a little careful about drawing on too much experience from so long ago. So, even though I'll certainly draw on my experience from the 1980s, I think I also need to do an awful lot of listening to people to understand what has been going on lately."
Hill served as the U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia from 1996 to 1999, Special Envoy to Kosovo in 1998 and 1999, Ambassador to Poland from 2000 to 2004, and ambassador to the Republic of Korea from 2004 to 2005 before being appointed as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. While on a fellowship with the American Political Science Association, Hill served as a member of the staff of Congressman Stephen Solarz.
In November 2006 President George W. Bush nominated Hill for the grade of career minister, the second-highest rank for career diplomats. The elite title is one step below career ambassador."Embassy Row" by James Morrison. Washington Times. November 2, 2006.
Bosnia peace settlement Hill was part of the team that negotiated the Bosnia peace settlement. While working on Balkan issues, Hill worked closely with Richard Holbrooke, serving as his deputy at the Dayton Peace Talks in 1995. Holbrooke described Hill as "brilliant, fearless and argumentative" in his book on the Dayton negotiations and said that Hill manages to be both "very cool and very passionate." The combination, Holbrooke said, enhances Hill's "extremely good negotiating skills." Hill said the negotiations with the Bosnians, Serbs and Croats were successful because all the parties "were all ready to settle.'
Hill had a diplomatic failure as special envoy to Kosovo "because the Serbs were not ready to relinquish their stranglehold on Kosovo, so we ended up in a NATO bombing campaign." "Like a lot of things in life: you've got to do everything you can do" Hill said, to ensure "that you have left no stone unturned, that you have really tried."
Negotiations with North Korea On February 14, 2005, Hill was named as the Head of the U.S. delegation to the six-party talks aimed at resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis.
In the first visit to North Korea by a senior American official in over five years, Hill flew into Pyongyang on June 21, 2007, for a two-day visit where he was warmly greeted by Ri Gun, the North's deputy nuclear negotiator at the airport. "We want to get the six-party process moving", Mr. Hill said. "We hope that we can make up for some of the time that we lost this spring, and so I'm looking forward to good discussions about that." The visit had been organized in secrecy. Hill had been visiting Tokyo and flew to South Korea and then on to Pyongyang on a small jet. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice informed regional allies Japan and South Korea just before Hill's departure from Tokyo."U.S. Official Wraps Up Sudden Visit To N. Korea" by Glenn Kessler. The Washington Post. June 22, 2007
On July 14, 2007, North Korea informed Hill that they had shut down the nuclear reactor at Yongbyon and admitted an international inspection team. Hill cautioned that the shutdown was "just the first step." Verifying the declaration will be difficult, because for now the inspectors are limited to the Yongbyon complex."North Koreans say they've Shut Nuclear Reactor" by David E. Sanger. The New York Times. July 15, 2007.
On September 3, 2007 The New York Times reported that Hill met in Geneva for two days of one-on-one negotiations with Kim Kye-gwan, who heads the North Korean negotiating team, and that North Korea had agreed to disable its main nuclear fuel production plant by the end of 2007 and to account for all of its nuclear programs to international monitors. North Korea had also agreed to turn off its main nuclear reactor this summer. "One thing that we agreed on is that the D.P.R.K. will provide a full declaration of all of their nuclear programs and will disable their nuclear programs by the end of this year, 2007", Hill told reporters."Nuclear Pact Broadening, North Korea And U.S. Say" by David E. Sanger. The New York Times. September 3, 2007.
On December 20, 2007, the Korea Times reported that Kathleen Stephens, adviser to Hill at the State Department in the office of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, had been appointed as the next ambassador to South Korea. Sources said that Hill had recommended Stephens for the ambassadorial position for her understanding and experiences on Korean affairs. Stephens served as an advisor to Hill during the North Korean nuclear talks, and reportedly was working on a peace treaty for the Korean Peninsula. "US Taps Female Ambassador to Seoul" by Yoon Won-sup. Korean Times. December 20, 2007.
On January 8, 2008 The New York Times reported that North Korea had missed a deadline to submit an inventory of its nuclear arms programs and that Hill said that failure to meet a deadline should be confronted with patience and perseverance. "They were prepared to give a declaration which wasn't going to be complete and correct and we felt that it was better for them to give us a complete one even if it's going to be a late one", said Hill."North Korea Given Time to Send Data." The New York Times. January 8, 2008.
On February 7, 2008, Hill told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that talks with North Korea are at a "critical, challenging" point. Washington has refused to remove North Korea from its terrorism blacklist until the promised list of its nuclear efforts is provided. "Let me be clear", Hill said. " 'Complete and correct' means complete and correct. This declaration must include all nuclear weapons, programs, materials and facilities, including clarification of any proliferation activities.""Panel told nuke talks at impasse." Washington Times. February 7, 2007.
On March 2, 2008, Hill said in an interview in Beijing that US diplomatic relations with Korea were possible before the end of the Bush administration if Korea completely dismantled its nuclear program. "We've told them we are not prepared to do that until they give up their nuclear materials", said Hill. "We can begin the process of discussing what we are going to do, whether we are going to open embassies, that sort of thing. But we will not have diplomatic relations with a nuclear North Korea.""U.S. relations with North Korea possible, diplomat says" by Barbara Demick. LA Times. March 4, 2008.
On April 11, 2008 The Washington Post reported that a tentative deal has been reached with North Korea concerning a range of nuclear activities and the lifting of sanctions against North Korea. The agreement would include North Korea's disabling of its main nuclear facility and a complete accounting of North Korea's plutonium. "We are trying to focus on the plutonium as we try to resolve our suspicions on uranium enrichment", said chief U.S. negotiator Christopher R. Hill. "That's where the bombs are. We don't have suspicions about plutonium; we have cold, hard facts about plutonium.""U.S. Ready to Ease Sanctions on N. Korea" by Glenn Kessler. The Washington Post. April 11, 2008.
US relationship with China Although Hill is not well known in the United States, he has become a celebrity in China as chief envoy in talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program."Quiet Diplomat Is Now A Celebrity In China." CBS News. February 13, 2007. Part of the reason is that during negotiations Hill speaks every morning and evening to the media and has an easygoing manner, while his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye Gwan, gives only occasional media access.
Hill says that the six party talks with North Korea have opened the door for fruitful dealings between the US and China in other areas. "We've worked diplomatically with them shoulder to shoulder. We haven't done this sort of thing before with China", says Hill. "At some point we have to figure out a way to deal with 1.3 billion people, and I think the six-party process has been a good one for that."
Hill said in an interview on April 21, 2008, in the Seattle Times that the United States' relationship with China is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. "I would say the China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship we have in the world", says Hill. "We have some 57 dialogues with Chinese counterparts, ranging from global warming to economic and trade issues. I would say we spend a great deal of time and attention on things Chinese with the understanding that in the long run we have to have a good working relationship with 1.3 billion people.""Q&A: Top U.S. diplomat on N. Korean negotiations, China and the Olympics, and American image" by Kristi Helm. Seattle Times. April 21, 2008.]