By Asia Society
NAP Contributor
Portrait of Kevin Rudd
The Board of Trustees of Asia Society announced in January that the Honorable Kevin Rudd, Ph.D., Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, will return to the U.S. and lead the Asia Society from its global headquarters in New York on March 31, 2026. Rudd will also serve as President of the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and will assume a leading role with ASPI’s Center for China Analysis which he established in 2022. He succeeds Kyung-wha Kang who stepped down as Asia Society President and CEO in October to serve as the Republic of Korea’s top diplomat in the U.S. Rudd will also be actively engaged in ASPI’s Washington, D.C. office through the Center for China Analysis in his ongoing engagement across the U.S. system on China policy.
Rudd served as Asia Society’s President and CEO (2021-2023) and the inaugural President of ASPI (2015-2023).
A distinguished diplomat, China scholar, and leading voice on Indo-Pacific and Asia-Pacific affairs. Rudd led Asia Society and ASPI in aggressively pursuing their mission. They navigated common futures on major policy challenges confronting the Asia-Pacific.
During his tenure, Rudd developed the world-class Center for China Analysis within ASPI. From the institute’s beginning, Rudd established ASPI as a leading global think-and-do tank ranked in the top one percent of think tanks worldwide. During his Asia Society presidency, he also led the establishment of two new locations—in Paris (Asia Society’s first in the European Union) and Seattle (focused on Artificial Intelligence and technology). Given the current challenges facing the Asia-Pacific and world, Rudd will expand the policy institute’s presence in Washington, D.C. and deepen the society’s critical focus on public policy, arts, culture, and education.
Prior to joining Asia Society, Rudd served as Australia’s 26th Prime Minister (2007-2010, 2013) and as foreign minister (2010-2012). He is a fluent Mandarin speaker and leading international authority on China. He began his career as a China scholar serving as an Australian diplomat in Beijing before entering Australian politics. He is the author of two major books on China and U.S.-China relations: On Xi Jinping (2024) and The Avoidable War (2022).
