American diplomat
Alexander Alden is an American national security official and business executive specializing in U.S. foreign policy, defense strategy, and emerging technologies. He held senior roles in the U.S. Department of State, National Security Council, and Department of Defense focusing on defense policy, transatlantic relations, and technological innovation.
Career.
Alden is a senior counselor at Palantir Technologies where he focuses on expanding collaboration with allied and partner governments as well as private sector clients. His business development activities center on defense and security partnerships in Europe. He also serves as a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Strategy Initiative.
At the U.S. Department of State, Alden served as the acting Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations where he was responsible for anticipating, preventing, and responding to conflicts that undermine U.S. national interests. As Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, he was the senior official responsible for strengthening U.S.-EU relations and countering Chinese regional influence. In this role he spearheaded the first high-level U.S.-EU Dialogue on China. Previously, Alden served on the U.S. National Security Council as senior director for emerging technologies and as director for defense policy. He also served as special assistant for policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he worked on the National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Posture Review, and Missile Defense Review.
Outside of government service, Alden was the national security editor for American Affairs, a Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute, and a project director at the Center for Naval Analyses. In private consulting, Alden served as managing director of the Rimland Strategies Group and manager of analysis at the Avascent Group.
Education.
Alden earned an M.A. in political science from the Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in political science and philosophy from Southern Illinois University.