Anthony Lake

Anthony Lake served as the sixth Executive Director of UNICEF from 2010 to 2017, a tenure during which he significantly redirected investment towards the most disadvantaged children and contributed to reducing child mortality worldwide. Nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama and named by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Lake was reappointed in 2014, completing his impactful term in 2017.

He earned a PhD from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1974, focusing his dissertation on American policy towards South Africa. Beyond government service, Lake held academic positions as a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University from 1997, and earlier as a professor at Amherst College in 1981 and Mount Holyoke College in 1984. He also co-founded Intellibridge Corporation in 2000. Lake is the author of several impactful books, including co-authoring ‘Our Own Worst Enemy: The Unmaking of American Foreign Policy’ in 1984, and authoring ‘Somoza Falling: A Case Study of Washington at Work’ in 1989, and ‘6 Nightmares: The Real Threats to American Security’ in 2001.

Prior to his Executive Director role at UNICEF, he contributed his expertise as an advisory board member for the Partnership for a Secure America and served on the boards of the United States Fund for UNICEF and the Marshall Legacy Institute. In recognition of his enduring contributions to international relations and public service, he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in 2018.