The Aspen Institute’s Salute to Paul Nitze
Celebrating the Life and Legacy of an
American Public Servant

Foreign policy experts from across the country attended a dinner on April 15 hosted by the Aspen Institute at the National Museum of Women in the Arts honoring Paul Nitze, one of the architects of U.S. foreign policy in the post-World War II era. Aspen Institute President Walter Issacson, Strobe Talbott, John Negroponte and Henry Kissinger delivered eloquent tributes to Nitze’s career, commending his ability to get both Republican and Democratic administrations to exhibit restraint and pursue a policy of containment. Ironically, notwithstanding their praise for Nitze’s prudence, the latter two speakers went on to assert that the world has changed and that current circumstances dictate we dispense with our historical policy of containment and go on the offense. As guests were seated for a lavish dinner, Ken Adelman, Richard Perle and Michael Ledeen were spotted huddling together around Henry Kissinger —how we wish we had overheard that conversation! Nitze’s sister Elizabeth Paepcke, and her husband, Walter, founded the Aspen Institute in 1950 to cultivate enlightened leaders.

Singaporean Ambassador Chan Heng Chee, Richard Burt, Henry Kissinger and Ann Nitze	Timothy Broas

Susan Nitze and C. Boyden Gray	Commander Mike Hegarty and Lester Crown	Former Gov. Ann Richards and Ann Hudson

Barry Blechman and Susan Eisenhower	Heidi Nitze

Rima Al-Sabah, Paul Nitze and Kuwaiti Ambassador Salem Abdullah Al-Sabah

Strobe Talbot and Walter Issacson

Ambassador to the U.N. John Negroponte	Leonard Lauder and Bill Mayer with Ann and Ed Hudson

Photos by Kyle Samperton