Victoria Nuland, a non-lawyer, is a retired Career Ambassador in the U.S. Diplomatic Service, one of only 38 people in U.S. history to attain that rank. She has 35 years of experience in foreign policy and strategy, diplomacy, media, and management at the U.S. Department of State and the White House. Toria served six U.S. Presidents and 10 Secretaries of State of both political parties. In July 2024, Toria became Shelby Cullom Davis Professor in the Practice of International Diplomacy at Columbia University's School of International and Public Policy, and returned to the Board of the National Endowment for Democracy.
Until March 2023, Toria served as Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Department of State for the U.S. Department of State where she oversaw and managed the work of all six regional bureaus, and the counter-terrorism bureau, addressing complex crises in Ukraine, the Sahel, Haiti, and the Middle East and working to broaden and strengthening America’s alliances and partnerships across Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Between July 2023 and February 2024, Toria served concurrently as Acting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State.
Toria served as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2013 until 2017 under President Barack Obama and Secretary John Kerry. She was responsible for diplomatic relations with 50 countries in Europe and Eurasia, as well as with NATO, the European Union, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Additionally, Toria was State Department Spokesperson during Secretary Hillary Clinton’s tenure from 2011-2013. She also was Special Envoy and Chief Negotiator on the Treaty on Conventional Arms Control in Europe from 2010-2011.
During George W. Bush’s presidency, Toria served as U.S. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to NATO from 2005- 2008. As NATO Ambassador, she focused heavily on strengthening Allied support for the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, on NATO-Russia issues, and on the Alliance’s global partnerships and continued enlargement. Prior to this appointment, she was Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President from 2003- 2005.
Toria joined the State Department's Foreign Service in 1984. Overseas, in addition to her two tours at NATO in Brussels, Toria also served in Moscow, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Guangzhou China.
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