Join the Pacific Council on Wednesday, October 22, at 6 pm PT for a book talk with Ambassador (ret.) Frank Lavin, Former Under Secretary for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce and author of Inside the Reagan White House: A Front-Row Seat to Presidential Leadership with Lessons for Today. 

Foreign policy during the Cold War served as a model for the US for decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but recent years have shown increased dissatisfaction with US international leadership and alliance management—whether you look at Obama's reduction in US commitment to NATO, Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan, or Trump's sharp breaks with NATO and challenges to international trade. Is international leadership no longer central to US security and prosperity? Or do the costs of leadership simply exceed the benefits? Does the US need to reduce its international role and commitments, or is this reduced international footprint a mistake?  

Lavin takes us back to the Reagan era of Cold War foreign policy for an examination of what worked during that period and in what ways might America have fallen short - and discusses why the lessons of that era still might apply today, as different as circumstances might be. 

About the Book

Inside the Reagan White House provides a compelling inside look at one of the most successful and purposeful presidents of modern times. This distinctive examination of presidential leadership unpacks key moments of Reagan’s presidency as he worked to push back against the Soviet Union, promote democracy, improve trade, lower taxes, and reduce the size and scope of government.

Please send questions in advance to events@pacificcouncil.org. Location to be shared in email confirmation.

Guest Speaker

Ambassador (ret.) Frank Lavin served as Under Secretary for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce in the Bush (43) Administration. In that capacity, Lavin served as lead trade negotiator for both China and India and was responsible for commercial policy, export promotion, and trade negotiations across the globe. Lavin was previously U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, where he helped negotiate the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

Lavin is active in U.S.-Asia policy, U.S. domestic politics, and trade policy matters. He serves as a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution as well as a Trustee of the Asia Foundation and as a Director of the Asia Society of Northern California.

In the private sector, Lavin served in senior finance and management positions in Hong Kong and Singapore with Bank of America and Citibank. Lavin also served in the Bush (41) and Reagan Administrations, working in the Department of Commerce, Department of State, National Security Council, and White House. In the Reagan Administration, Lavin served as White House Political Director.

He is a columnist for Forbes.com and has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and elsewhere. Lavin is also the author of Inside the Reagan White House, The Smart Business Guide to China E-Commerce, co-author of Export Now, and author of Home Front to Battlefront, a World War II history book.

Lavin is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the Advisory Board of ECIPE, a Brussels-based think tank. Lavin has participated in two humanitarian missions to Ukraine. He formerly served as a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

Lavin earned a B.S. from the School of Foreign Service and an M.S. in Chinese Language and History (both Georgetown University); an M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from SAIS (Johns Hopkins University); and an M.B.A. in Finance from Wharton (University of Pennsylvania).