Henry Haggard

Henry Haggard is a Senior Associate Researcher with the KF-VUB Korea Chair at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS). He is a former US diplomat who completed a twenty-five-year career in the US Foreign Service, retiring at the rank of Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service. Henry is the Founding Principal of Seekonk Global Strategy Group, Principal at WestExec Advisors, Non-Resident Fellow at the Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies (CES) at Rice University, Senior Fellow at Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI), Partner at Albion East Global Development Consultants, and Senior Advisor at AI Diplomatic Engagement Network (ADEN).

From 2021-2023, he served as Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the United States Embassy in Seoul, where he managed the bilateral security relationship with South Korea. Previous assignments include Director for European Affairs at the White House National Security Council under the Trump and Biden administrations coordinating United States policy and engagement with Turkey and the United Kingdom, and Director for Energy Diplomacy for Asia and the Middle East, where he built the US-Japan-Korea trilateral energy cooperation in support of the Camp David Summit. He participated in four diplomatic missions to North Korea between 2000-2008.

Henry speaks fluent Korean and French and received a BA in International Relations from Brown University and an MA in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. He founded The Twenty-Five Year Apprenticeship, a resource for diplomatic tradecraft and frequently contributes to news and media on global affairs and the Korean peninsula.