University News | October 14, 2011

Fareed Zakaria named 2012 Harvard Commencement speaker

The international affairs expert, writer, and television host holds a Harvard Ph.D. in government.

International affairs expert Fareed Zakaria will be the principal speaker at Harvard's 361st Commencement, the University announced today.

Zakaria earned a Ph.D. in government from Harvard in 1993. A prolific writer, he has been an editor at Time magazine, Newsweek's international edition, and Foreign Affairs. His books include The Post-American World, The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad, and From Wealth to Power: The Unusual Origins of America's World Role. He is the host of the CNN international-affairs program GPS. Esquire magazine has called him "the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation."

In the official announcement, President Drew Faust called him "an unusually creative and incisive thinker in the realm of international affairs."

Zakaria will speak at the Afternoon Exercises—the annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association—which in 2012 take place on May 24.

You might also like

Smiling man in a Harvard jacket alongside a clock tower with green dome against the sky.

The longtime administrator, who retired from the post in 2018, returns as the College reorganizes.

Morgan gate with brick pillars, surrounded by greenery and historic architecture.

The government also opens an investigation into financial aid awards to Chinese students.

Historic building entrance featuring tall columns and a rounded arch doorway.

A new proposed structure, layoffs, and a five-day-a-week in-person work mandate will take effect by fall.

Most popular

University Hall exterior with ornate windows and greenery.

College staff whose jobs will be changed or eliminated were notified this week.

A woman with long hair stands confidently with crossed arms next to a pickup truck.

In her memoir All That's Unseen, Emilee Hackney explores religion, friendship, and home.

Close-up of a bronze scale symbolizing justice, with soft lighting in the background.

The organization said its amicus brief had not been reviewed internally.

Explore More From Current Issue

Five individuals are posed in a monochrome outdoor setting near a cinderblock building, some standing, some seated.

Visual Arts

Photographer and writer Morgan Smith chronicles life beyond the violence in Ciudad Juárez and other Mexican towns.

A woman with long, silver hair rests her chin on her hand, wearing a black top.

Arts & Culture

Author and Harvard Divinity School writer-in-residence Terry Tempest Williams finds beauty in the world around us.

Star-filled night sky with the Milky Way arching over a rocky silhouette.

Science

There’s a growing movement to curb light pollution. It starts on your front porch.