Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has appointed Xiang Lanxin, professor of international history and politics at the Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales in Geneva, Switzerland, as the new Henry Alfred Kissinger Scholar in Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress, effective Sept. 2, 2003. Billington made the appointment upon the recommendation of a six-person selection committee consisting of members of the academic community and high-ranking foreign policy experts.
Xiang is the third scholar to occupy the Kissinger chair since the position was created in 2000 through the generosity of friends of the former secretary of state to honor him and emphasize the importance of foreign affairs. Aaron Friedberg, director of the research program in international security and acting director of the Center of International Studies at Princeton University, was the first to hold the position. The 2002-2003 holder of the chair was Klaus Larres, Jean Monnet Professor, European Foreign and Security Policy at the School of Politics, Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
