Skip to content

Robert Hormats

Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs

Robert D. Hormats is the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs. He was formerly vice chairman of Goldman Sachs (International) and managing director of Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Hormats has also served as ambassador and deputy US Trade Representative, and senior deputy assistant secretary for Economic and Business Affairs at the US Department of State. He was a senior staff member on the National Security Council and senior economic advisor to National Security Advisors Henry Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft, and Zbigniew Brzezinski. Hormats has received the French Legion of Honor and Arthur Fleming Award.

Mr. Hormats has been a visiting lecturer at Princeton University and is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the Dean's Council of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Mr. Hormats' publications include Abraham Lincoln and the Global Economy; American Albatross: The Foreign Debt Dilemma; and Reforming the International Monetary System. Mr. Hormats earned a B.A. from Tufts University with a concentration in economics and political science; an M.A. and a Ph.D. in international economics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

What is your counsel?

Do something to address the big issues.

▸

3 min

—

with

What should we be asking ourselves?

How do I make the world a better place?

▸

2 min

—

with

What are the major issues confronting the U.S.?

We lack political vision, Hormats says.

▸

4 min

—

with

The 2008 US Presidential Election

Get out of Iraq, Hormats says, and fix the home front.

▸

4 min

—

with

What is your outlook?

Hormats is cautiously optimistic.

▸

3 min

—

with

What do you believe?

Hormats, on his faith in the march of humanity.

▸

4 min

—

with

What is the measure of a good life?

Living a productive and constructive life.

▸

3 min

—

with

The Future of the “American Dream”

The idea of improving your living standards and passing on a better society to future generations is very powerful. Will Americans continue to be successful at doing that?

▸

5 min

—

with

A History Lesson for Business

Hormats talks about his book, The Price of Liberty: Paying for America’s Wars.

▸

3 min

—

with

What makes a great leader?

Integrity, candor and an understanding of the greater implications of one’s work.

▸

5 min

—

with

What are the most exciting things in business today?

Hormats is jazzed about innovation in the energy sector.

▸

4 min

—

with

Hormats’ Impact on the World

Hormats discusses channeling capital into productive companies and teaching people to embrace change.

▸

4 min

—

with

What inspires you?

Democracy depends on an informed citizenry.

▸

3 min

—

with

Is there a spending crisis in America?

The US government is making commitments to retirees that it can’t fulfill.

▸

3 min

—

with

What is the state of the U.S. economy?

Oil ties up a lot of money.

▸

3 min

—

with

The U.S. Government’s Role in the Economy

The American people need more candor, Hormats says.

▸

3 min

—

with

From growing in segregated Baltimore, to working with Henry Kissinger.

▸

3 min

—

with

What do you do?

Robert Hormats works on international financial transactions at Goldman Sachs.

▸

3 min

—

with

American Business Today

American business has become international, Hormats says.

▸

3 min

—

with