Fred Bergsten is Director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics since its creation in 1981. He served as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs of the US Treasury (1977–81) and also as Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs (1980–81) representing the US on the G5 Deputies and in preparing G7 summits, having coordinated US foreign economic policy in the White House as Assistant to Henry Kissinger at the National Security Council.
He was Chairman of the Eminent Persons Group of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum from 1993 to 1995, authoring its three reports that recommended "free and open trade in the region by 2010 and 2020" as adopted at the APEC summits in 1993 and 1994. He was also Chairman of the Competitiveness Policy Council created by the Congress from 1991 through 1995, and a member of the two leading commissions on reform of the international monetary system: the Independent Task Force on The Future International Financial Architecture, sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations (1999), and the International Financial Institutions Advisory Commission created by Congress (2000, on which he led the dissenting minority).
He has authored numerous books and articles, including most recently China's Rise: Challenges and Opportunities (2008). He is an honorary Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (1997). His recent writings include: The Dollar and the Deficits: How Washington Can Prevent the Next Crisis (Foreign Affairs, November / December 2009), The Long-Term International Economic Position of the United States (Peterson Institute for International Economics, Special Report, 20), America Cannot Resolve Global Imbalances on Its Own (Financial Times, August 19, 2009), and We Should Listen to Beijing’s Currency Idea (Financial Times, April 8, 2009).
