Louise M. Richardson
Dame Louise Richardson is president of the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, established in 1911. Previously, she served as vice-chancellor (president) of the University of Oxford and of the University of St. Andrews, and as executive dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
A native of Ireland, she studied history in Trinity College Dublin before gaining her PhD at Harvard University, where she spent 20 years on the faculty of the Department of Government, teaching courses on international security and foreign policy. She currently sits on numerous advisory boards, while serving as a trustee of the Booker Prize Foundation, National Theatre in America, and the nonprofit Inter Mediate.
A political scientist by training, Richardson is recognized internationally as an expert on terrorism and counterterrorism. Today considered a seminal work in the field, her groundbreaking study, What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat (2006), was hailed by the New York Times Book Review as an “overdue and essential primer on terrorism and how to tackle it … the book many have been waiting for.” Other publications include Democracy and Counterterrorism: Lessons from the Past (2007), The Roots of Terrorism (2006), and When Allies Differ: Anglo-American Relations during the Suez and Falklands Crises (1996).
Richardson has received awards in recognition of her excellence as a professor and scholar and has been awarded 12 honorary doctorates. In addition to her membership in the American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, she is also a member of the American Philosophical Society, a member of the the Ƶ of Social Sciences in the United Kingdom, a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and an honorary member of the Royal Irish Ƶ
In June 2022, Richardson was appointed a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) in recognition of her services to higher education. In 2024, the French government named Richardson a Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters for advancing arts and culture and for furthering ties between the U.S. and France.