Clinton starts “Foreign Affairs Policy Board”

On Dec. 19, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will host the first-ever meeting of a panel made up of outside experts that will advise Clinton -- and her successor -- on the top priorities facing the State Department.

Brookings Institution President Strobe Talbott, a former deputy secretary of state, is the chair of the new "Foreign Affairs Policy Board," which is modeled after the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board. He will work with Jake Sullivan, director of the policy planning office at State, to coordinate the board's activities.

The Dec. 19 meeting will focus on Clinton's economic statecraft initiative, a State Department official said. The board members, who will serve two year terms, include a mix of Democrats and Republicans, former officials and experts from the military, diplomatic, and development fields. They include former Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg, former Policy Planning Director Anne-Marie Slaughter, former Congresswoman Jane Harman, former National Security Advisor Steve Hadley, former Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, Brookings Institution scholar Bob Kagan, and many more.

Clinton has been trying to build up the State Department's policy infrastructure since she came into office. For example, she initiated and then executed State's first ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, which was modeled after the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review.

And even though Clinton is widely expected to retire next year, she intends for the new Foreign Affairs Policy Board to continue its work even after she steps down.

"The Board is composed of 25 members who will meet at the Department of State periodically to discuss issues of high priority for the Secretary and the Department," reads a press release set to be issued later today. "It will focus on broad strategic questions and provide the Secretary and other senior Department officials with insights, perspectives, and ideas. Secretary Clinton will meet with the Board several times during the duration of her tenure."

Read the full list of board members after the jump:

Liaquat Ahamed
Ann Fudge
Helene Gayle
Nina Hachigian
Stephen Hadley
Jane Harman
Carla Hills
Alberto Ibargüen
Robert Kagan
Rachel Kleinfeld
Jim Kolbe
Stephen Krasner
Ellen Laipson
Mack McLarty
Mike Mullen
Vali Nasr
John Negroponte
Jacqueline Novogratz
Tom Pickering
John Podesta
Anne-Marie Slaughter
James Steinberg
Strobe Talbott
Laura Tyson
Rich Verma

Foreign Policy