Anne-Marie Slaughter appointed new Dean of the School of Public Policy at LSE

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is pleased to announce Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter as the new Dean of the School of Public Policy (SPP) at LSE. Dr Slaughter will take up a professorial appointment on joining the School.

Dr. Slaughter is a globally recognised scholar, public leader and policy expert, whose distinguished career spans academia, government and civil society. She currently serves as CEO of the think tank New America, a position she has held since 2013. Previously, she was the first woman to hold the position of Director of Policy Planning for the US State Department, and is the Bert G. Kerstetter ’66 University Professor Emerita at Princeton University, where she served as Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs from 2002-09. She was previously a professor of foreign, international, and comparative law at Harvard Law School. She is the author or editor of nine books and a contributing editor for the Financial Times.

Founded in 2018 under the leadership of its inaugural Dean, Professor Andrés Velasco, the SPP brings world-class academic research together with practical policy application. SPP fosters an international community where ideas and practice meet, supporting the next generation of leaders through a wide range of post-graduate and executive teaching programmes, alongside interdisciplinary research, and engagement with policymakers.

Commenting on her appointment, Dr. Slaughter said: “I am honoured and excited to build on the excellent foundation that Dean Velasco has laid. Public servants, civic actors, and business leaders face an extraordinary array of challenges around the world, from local to global. Our task is not only to help design solutions, but to figure out how to get things done, with new tools and a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. I have long admired LSE for its rigor, values, and global impact, and cannot imagine a better place to do this work.”

Professor Larry Kramer, President and Vice Chancellor of LSE, said: “Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter brings to LSE deep substantive expertise, coupled with broad leadership experience, and I am thrilled she will guide the School of Public Policy into and through its next chapter. At a time of increasing global turbulence and political complexity, we need rigorous thinking, backed by evidence-based research, to enable current and future leaders to meet these challenges. The SPP is ideally positioned to do this work, and with Anne-Marie’s leadership I am confident it will do so.”

The appointment marks the end of the tenure of SPP’s inaugural Dean, Professor Andrés Velasco. Since launching SPP in 2018, Professor Velasco has led a period of significant growth and achievement – expanding its degree programme portfolio, developing new double degree partnerships, introducing new scholarship opportunities and building a vibrant student community, which in 2025-26 has grown to welcome nearly 450 students from 60 nationalities. Professor Velasco will remain an active member of the SPP faculty and will continue to teach and engage with students.

Dr. Slaughter will join LSE in January 2027, taking full responsibility as Dean in February 2027.