New Year Honour for Fiona Hill, who grew up in Bishop Auckland

The honour is for Dr Hill’s services to international relations in recognition of her work in foreign policy in the US and for maintaining close US-UK ties.

On receiving the honour, Fiona said she was “deeply honoured and moved”.

Fiona Hill said she was deeply honoured to be made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (Image: DURHAM UNIVERSITY)

Fiona Hill is an expert in foreign affairs and an authority on Russian and European geopolitics. She has advised US Presidents George W Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump on foreign affairs.

Fiona served on the US National Intelligence Council from 2006 to 2009, and was a member of the US National Security Council under President Trump.

Fiona is a senior fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe, in the Foreign Policy programme at the Brookings Institution, a non-profit public policy organisation based in Washington DC. In November 2022, she was announced as the Chancellor of Durham University.

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Dr Hill grew up in Bishop Auckland in County Durham as the daughter of a coal miner and has spoken of having a thirst for learning from an early age and being passionate about social mobility and giving back to the community.  

She pursued degree studies at St Andrew’s University, Scotland, graduating with a Master’s in Russian and Modern History. She holds a Master’s in Soviet studies and a doctorate in History from Harvard University, USA, where she was a Frank Knox Fellow. Fiona was recently elected to the Harvard University Board of Overseers.

She became a US citizen in 2002 and is married with one daughter.