Nile Gardiner is Director of The Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom and the Bernard and Barbara Lomas Fellow. 

His key areas of specialization include: the Anglo-American “special relationship,” the United Nations, post-war Iraq, and the role of Great Britain and Europe in the U.S.-led alliance against international terrorism and “rogue states,” including Iran. He was recently named one of the 50 most influential Britons in the United States by the London Daily Telegraph.

As a leading authority on transatlantic relations, Gardiner has advised the executive branch of the U.S. government on a range of key issues, from the role of international allies in post-war Iraq, to U.S.-British leadership in the War on Terrorism. His policy papers are read widely on Capitol Hill, where he is regularly sought after for advice on major foreign policy matters.

Gardiner has testified several times before Congress, and frequently briefs delegations of political leaders and journalists from across the world. He served as an expert on the 2005 Gingrich-Mitchell Congressional Task Force on the United Nations.

Prior to joining Heritage in 2002, Gardiner was Foreign Policy Researcher for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Working in her Private Office, Gardiner assisted Lady Thatcher with her latest book, Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World, published by HarperCollins. He served as an aide to Lady Thatcher from 2000 to 2002 and advised her on a number of international policy issues.

Gardiner received his doctorate in History from Yale University, and was awarded several academic scholarships, including the International Security Studies Smith Richardson Foundation Fellowship, and the David Gimbel Fellowship. In addition, Gardiner has two master's degrees from Yale, and a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in Modern History from Oxford University. He has a broad range of international experience, and has lived in four continents: Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.

He appears frequently as a foreign policy analyst and political commentator on national and international television and radio, including Fox News Channel, CNN, BBC, Sky News, and NPR. He has made over 500 television appearances, and given more than 400 radio interviews, discussing foreign policy issues.

His media appearances include: “The O’Reilly Factor” (Fox News Channel), “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS), “Good Morning America” (ABC), “NBC Nightly News,” “Hardball with Chris Matthews” (MSNBC), “Hannity & Colmes” (Fox), “Lou Dobbs Tonight” (CNN), “Anderson Cooper 360” (CNN), “Washington Journal” (C-SPAN), “The Situation Room” (CNN), “Fox and Friends” (FOX), “Special Report with Brit Hume” (Fox), “The Early Show” (CBS), “Studio B with Shepard Smith” (Fox), “Power Lunch” (CNBC), “Your World With Neil Cavuto” (Fox), “Big Story With John Gibson” (Fox), “Newsnight” (BBC), “GMTV” (ITV), “Sunday Live with Adam Boulton” (Sky News) “CBC News: Sunday” (CBC), “Today Programme”(BBC Radio 4), “The Diane Rehm Show'”(NPR), and “All Things Considered” (NPR).

Gardiner also has written for a number of leading publications including: The Wall Street Journal, The London Sunday Times, USA Today, The Washington Times, The Boston Globe, Suddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), The London Daily Telegraph, The New York Daily News, The Weekly Standard, National Review, and Human Events. He has been widely quoted in major U.S. and international media including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times, International Herald Tribune, Le Figaro (France), Reuters, Associated Press, The London Times, and The London Sunday Telegraph.