In May 2025, the Program on Negotiation (PON) and the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School welcomed the 70th Secretary of State and Harvard Law School Alum, Michael R. Pompeo to sit down for a series of interviews which included a public session attended by students, faculty, and guests at Harvard Law School, as well as an in-depth private session, where Pompeo answered questions and offered insights on U.S. foreign policy and negotiation.
In the interview, Pompeo described his unique experience as the only cabinet member to serve in the Trump Administration throughout all four years. Pompeo began his time as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and in 2018 Pompeo was sworn in as the 70th Secretary of State for the remainder of Trump’s first term.
Pompeo discussed his negotiations and policy decisions regarding North Korea, the withdrawal of armed forces from Afghanistan, the United States’ exit from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the implementation of the Maximum Pressure Plan against Iran and nuclear development. Pompeo also touched on his experience working on the Israel-Palestine conflict during his time as a cabinet member.
Newly available from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) are both the public session and extended private session video interviews with Secretary Pompeo, where he describes some of the behind-the-scenes work involved in the negotiations.
The public session video is freely available for viewing on the Program on Negotiation website. You can also purchase the downloadable, extended private interview video from the TNRC website. Please check out this preview of the private session interview:
Click here to learn more and download the Michael R. Pompeo SOSP Private Interview Video.
The American Secretaries of State Project (SOSP) is a collaborative effort of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School. The SOSP illuminates and chronicles the negotiation experiences of former U.S. Secretaries of State. The Project is co-chaired by Professor Nicholas Burns, Harvard Kennedy School; Professor Emeritus Robert Mnookin, Harvard Law School; and Professor James Sebenius, Harvard Business School.
The American Secretaries of State Project has interviewed all living former U.S. Secretaries of State at Harvard University to examine—with faculty, students and experts—the most demanding and important negotiations they conducted while serving in the nation’s highest foreign policy office.
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