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21st Century China Center China Center

Stephen Biegun

Vice Chairman, National Endowment for Democracy

Stephen Biegun
Stephen E. Biegun has four decades of international affairs experience in government and the private sector, including with the Department of State, the White House and Congress. In 2019, he was confirmed as deputy secretary of state, with a bipartisan vote of 90-3. He also worked for two decades in the private sector as a corporate vice president of Ford Motor Company and The Boeing Company. As the department’s second-highest-ranking diplomat, Biegun led the State Department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also focused on the Korean Peninsula, U.S.-China relations, the broader Indo-Pacific region, U.S.-Russia relations, Eastern Europe and arms control. During his time in government, Biegun served as chief of staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, national security advisor to the Senate majority leader and executive secretary of the White House National Security Council. He also serves on the board of the National Endowment for Democracy. He graduated from the University of Michigan.