CEES Distinguished Lecture Series – “The Rise and Persistence of Authoritarianism: Is Democracy in Peril?

“The Necessity of American Leadership on the Global State,”
by Bridget Brink, U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia (2019-2022) and Ukraine (2022-2025)

115 INTERNATIONAL CENTER

Biography: BRIDGET BRINK is a proud Michigander who served her country over a 28-year career as a U.S. Foreign Service officer, including serving as the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion. She is a national security expert who dedicated her life to the fight for freedom and democracy in Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain of Communism. She  began her career during the Balkan Wars and was the ju nior-most member of the U.S.-led peace negotiations in Rambouillet and Paris in 1999. She went on to serve in Georgia and Uzbekistan , in multiple jo b s in the State Department, and as a Director in President Obama’s National Security Council. She was a two-time Ambassador: first to Slovakia (2019 to  2022) and then to Ukraine (2022 to 2025) and was twice confirmed unanimously by the Senate. While Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget executed the U.S. effort to keep Ukraine free and was awarded the Ryan Crocker Award for Outstanding Achievement for Expeditionary Diplomacy in 2024.