CFR Membership

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is first and foremost a membership organization. With over 4,500 members, CFR's ranks include top government officials, renowned scholars, business leaders, acclaimed journalists, prominent lawyers, and distinguished nonprofit professionals. Members participate in meetings, panel discussions, interviews, lectures, book clubs, and film screenings to discuss and debate the major foreign policy issues of our time. Members have unparalleled access to world leaders, senior government officials, members of Congress, and prominent thinkers.

Corporate Membership

Membership

CFR’s membership represents a group unmatched in accomplishment and diversity in the field of international affairs. With over 4,500 members, CFR’s roster includes top government officials, renowned scholars, business leaders, acclaimed journalists, prominent lawyers, and distinguished nonprofit professionals.

Quality, diversity, and balance are the key objectives sought by CFR in the composition of its membership. New members are named twice a year by the Board of Directors, which invites individuals to join based on recommendations by the Committee on Membership. The committee is composed of five members of the Board and a number of other members chosen by the committee chair. To be considered by the committee, candidates must be nominated by a CFR member and seconded by three other individuals (maximum of four).

The official roster of CFR members is listed in the annual report. You may obtain the roster in two ways:

Given the high level of the competition, it is impossible for us to accept every qualified candidate.

For more information on membership, please contact Scott Bradbury, assistant director, Membership Affairs at +1.212.434.9484 or via applications@cfr.org.

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Term Membership

The Stephen M. Kellen Term Member Program, established to cultivate the next generation of foreign policy leaders, encourages promising young leaders from diverse backgrounds to engage in a sustained conversation on international affairs and U.S. foreign policy.

The term members enjoy a full range of activities, including events with high-profile speakers, an annual Term Member Conference, roundtables, trips to financial and governmental institutions around the country, and one week-long study trip abroad every two years.

For more information on term membership, please contact Membership Affairs at applications@cfr.org or +1.212.434.9486.

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Membership Selection Procedures

  • A candidate for membership must be nominated in writing by one CFR member and seconded by a minimum of three other individuals (maximum of four). It is not required that seconding letters come from current CFR members, but it is strongly recommended.
  • A candidate for term membership must be nominated in writing by one CFR member and seconded by a minimum of two other individuals (maximum of three). It is not required that seconding letters come from current CFR members, but it is strongly recommended. Candidates applying for the November 1, 2012 deadline must be between the ages of thirty and thirty-six on January 1, 2013.
  • Prospective candidates should contact Membership Affairs via applications@cfr.org to request a link to the online application. The email should indicate the type of membership the candidate is applying for and include the candidate's full name, date of birth, citizenship status, title and affiliation, and the email address to which the secure link to the online application should be sent.
  • When completing the online application, each candidate will be required to enter the names and email addresses of his or her nominator and seconders. All letter writers will be emailed a link to the website where letters can be posted securely and will only be visible to the Committee on Membership and relevant CFR staff.
  • Membership and term membership is restricted to U.S. citizens (native-born or naturalized) and permanent residents who have applied to become citizens. If foreign born, a candidate must submit a statement that he or she has been naturalized or is a permanent resident who has made formal application for citizenship. These statements can be emailed to applications@cfr.org. CFR members also are required to fulfill annual dues requirements.
  • Deadlines for receipt of all materials for prospective members are March 1 and October 1. For prospective term members, the deadline is November 1.

Members of the Council's Board of Directors and Committee on Membership are precluded from nominating or writing seconding letters on any candidate's behalf.

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Application Checklist

  • Please email Membership Affairs at applications@cfr.org to request access to the online application. The email should indicate the type of membership the candidate is applying for and include the candidate's full name, date of birth, citizenship status, title and affiliation, and the email address to which the secure link to the online application should be sent;
  • Letter of nomination from a CFR member;
  • Three seconding letters for membership (maximum of four); it is not required that seconding letters come from current CFR members, but it is strongly recommended;
  • Two seconding letters for term membership (maximum of three); it is not required that seconding letters come from current CFR members, but it is strongly recommended;
  • All materials, including nominating and seconding letters, should be submitted using the online application.

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Rules and Regulations to Keep in Mind

It is the responsibility of the candidate to contact Membership Affairs to initiate his or her application. Candidates and/or nominators are responsible for securing seconding letters within the content guidelines set forth below. CFR members are urged to commit themselves to nominating a candidate only when he or she is confident the requirements of the process can be met. Please also note:

  • CFR membership is restricted to U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States who have made formal application to become citizens. If a candidate was born outside of the United States, he or she must submit a statement that he or she has been naturalized or is a permanent resident who has made a formal application for citizenship.
  • Officers of CFR as well as members of the Board of Directors and Committee on Membership are precluded from nominating or writing seconding letters on any candidate's behalf.
  • A member who is a spouse, close relative (a parent, sibling, cousin, or the like), or near in-law of a candidate may not nominate or second that candidate for membership in CFR. Members should also refrain from writing on behalf of clients.
  • A member should write only in support of candidates whom that member has direct personal knowledge. Additionally, members are encouraged to make comparative judgments about candidates, where appropriate.
  • The Committee on Membership asks members to write no more than two letters per round (either one nominating letter and one seconding letter, or two seconding letters).
  • CFR visiting fellows are prohibited from applying for membership until they have completed their fellowship tenure.
  • Candidates for term membership must be between the ages of thirty and thirty-six on January 1 of the year in which their election takes place. Term membership elections are held in June of the following year from the application deadline.

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Nominating Letters

Letters nominating a candidate for consideration by the membership committee should be no more than five hundred words in length. Candidates must be nominated in writing by a CFR member. Thoughtful, candid, and succinct comments are far more important than formal endorsements of candidates. The first paragraph of a nomination letter must include a clear and comprehensive statement about the nature of the relationship between the candidate and the letter writer. Please also address the following criteria, which have always been central to the committee's consideration of membership candidates:

  • Intellectual attainment and expertise;
  • Degree of experience, interest, and current involvement in international affairs or in other areas affecting international affairs;
  • Promise of future achievement and service in foreign relations;
  • Potential contributions to the Council's work;
  • Desire and ability to participate in Council activities; and
  • Standing among his or her peers.

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Seconding Letters

Seconding letters need not be as comprehensive (no more than three hundred words). It is not required that seconding letters come from current CFR members, but it is strongly recommended. In seconding letters, writers are encouraged to state why the candidate should be considered for CFR membership based on the criteria above with an emphasis on "standing among his or her peers." Letter writers should also provide relevant information that might not be included in a candidate's CV or in the nomination letter. The first paragraph of seconding letters must also include a clear and comprehensive statement about the nature of the relationship between the candidate and the letter writer. As with nomination letters, thoughtful, candid, and succinct comments are far more important in seconding letters than formal endorsements of candidates.

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Application Deadlines

Strict observance of deadlines is essential to staff support of the Committee on Membership's work, and we request your continuing cooperation. Applications that are not completed prior to the deadline for any given committee meeting will not be forwarded for consideration. If a candidate wishes to apply at a later date, he or she will need to initiate a new application by emailing applications@cfr.org.

Membership: March 1 and October 1
Term Membership: November 1

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Notification

All membership candidates and their nominators will receive notification of the committee's decisions according to the schedule below.

Application Deadline/Notification
Membership: October 1/Mid February
Term Membership: November 1/Late June
Membership: March 1/Late June

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Application Reactivation Requirements

Candidates who are held over (not elected) at any given committee meeting may remain eligible for consideration at subsequent meetings. An application may be reactivated by submitting an updated CV and basic information, using the online application, and securing a minimum of one and maximum of three additional seconding letters that provide new insights that would be helpful in the selection process. It is not required that seconding letters come from current CFR members, but it is strongly recommended. The original nomination letter as well as seconding letters submitted in previous applications will remain on file for a period of ten years. Candidates may submit new letters from previous letter writers only when new content is included. If a candidate is not elected after two consecutive meetings, the application will be placed on hold for a period of three years for membership candidates and one year for term membership candidates. After the hold period, the candidate may reactivate the file for consideration. For term membership applicants, the hold period does not apply if a candidate would be ineligible to reapply due to age.

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Contact Information

Membership Affairs
Council on Foreign Relations
58 East 68th Street
New York, NY 10065
Telephone: +1.212.434.9484 Fax: +1.212.434.9801
E-mail: applications@cfr.org

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