Sir Evelyn de Rothschild's Kissinger Fellowship Endowment Continues to Shape Global Leadership
When the McCain Institute at Arizona State University named Belarusian democratic leader Maria Kalesnikava as its Kissinger Fellow for 2026–2027, the announcement drew attention across the transatlantic policy community. Fresh from a December 2025 prison release that freed her and 122 other political prisoners, Kalesnikava stepped into a role designed to cultivate seasoned voices in foreign policy and national security. Fewer observers recognized the quieter thread running through the appointment: the fellowship itself carries the imprint of a financier and philanthropist whose gifts helped bring it into being more than a decade ago.
That benefactor, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, was a British banker whose family foundation supported causes on both sides of the Atlantic. His decision to endow a fellowship honoring Henry Kissinger connected personal friendship, a belief in principled statecraft, and a long record of institutional generosity. The Kalesnikava appointment offers a fresh occasion to trace that connection.
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