Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder

Aspen Institute Launches Albright International Leaders Program to Honor the Legacy of Secretary Madeleine K. Albright

Sustained by a $6 million endowment, the program will prepare a new generation of international leaders in the tradition of one of America’s most consequential diplomats.

Washington, DC, May 29, 2026 – Today, the Aspen Institute’s Aspen Strategy Group (ASG) launched the Albright International Leaders Program (AILP) in honor of former U.S. Secretary of State, longtime Aspen Institute Trustee, and member of the Aspen Strategy Group, Madeleine K. Albright. AILP will bring together mid-career international professionals based in the United States to learn from world leaders; senior government officials; members of Congress; journalists; and prominent thinkers and practitioners in academia, policy, and business.

“Secretary Albright was one of America’s most learned, principled, and consequential leaders. She was the kind of person whose wisdom never leaves those lucky enough to have been around her. This new program advances her legacy by fostering growth among international leaders through the very dialogue, relationships, and collaborations that define the Aspen Strategy Group and the Aspen Institute writ large,” said Aspen Institute President and CEO Dan Porterfield.

“Madeleine Albright was more than a brilliant diplomat; she was a devoted educator and a champion for the next generation of thinkers and doers. This program is a testament to her enduring spirit, designed to empower foreign policy professionals with the tools to lead in an era of unprecedented global change,” said ASG Co-Chairs Condoleezza Rice and Nicholas Burns and Executive Director Anja Manuel.

An international complement to the existing ASG Rising Leaders Program for U.S. citizens, AILP will select approximately 20 U.S.-based mid-career professionals from countries around the world supporting embassies, multilateral institutions, and international organizations. Each cohort will spend the year participating in leadership seminars, regular meetings, and other ASG programming, including the Aspen Security Forum; learning from leaders in diplomacy and national security; engaging in bespoke Aspen Institute leadership seminars; and developing networks with alumni and other ASG community members. The year-long experience will culminate at the Aspen Security Forum in July each year.

The program honors Secretary Albright’s fierce commitment to multilateralism, international collaboration, and public service. A $6 million endowment has been established to support AILP in perpetuity, ensuring that each cohort reflects the political and geographic diversity that Secretary Albright believed essential to shaping the next generation of foreign policy leaders.

“My mother believed that diplomacy is, at its heart, a human endeavor — that the relationships we forge across borders are what make peace possible and progress durable. She also believed, fiercely, that democracy is not a spectator sport, and that each generation must be equipped to defend it,” said Katie Albright, an Aspen Institute Trustee and a daughter of Secretary Albright. “This program carries those convictions forward. It invests in the rising leaders who will shape the next chapter of international affairs, and it does so in the spirit she embodied every day of her life: with conviction, with humility, and with an abiding faith in what nations can accomplish together. Our family is deeply grateful to the Aspen Institute for honoring her in a way she would have loved — by opening doors for others.”

Applications for AILP will open in June 2027 with decisions and the first cohort welcomed in September 2027. Each year the Albright International Leaders Program will run from September through July. Candidates should be non-U.S. citizens/green card holders and mid-career professionals between 35-45 years of age with a minimum of 10 years of experience, reside in the U.S. year-round, and hold a C1 English language proficiency.

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The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners.

The Aspen Strategy Group’s mission is to convene decision makers in resolutely nonpartisan public and private forums to address key foreign policy challenges facing the United States. The ASG organizes its annual Summer Workshop in Aspen along with a variety of track II dialogues. It also presents the annual Aspen Security Forum, a public conference that engages current and former senior U.S. and international officials, conservatives and liberals, to take part in discussions on the most vital national security challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://www.aspensecurityforum.org/aspen-strategy-group/.

Contact: Ilana Drimmer
Senior Advisor for Communications and Engagement
Aspen Strategy Group
[email protected]