Dr. Lieberthal is Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy, Global Economy and Development, and also the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution. He served as Director of the China Center for July 2009-August 2012. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan, where until 2009 he was Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Political Science and William Davidson Professor of Business Administration. He taught at Swarthmore College from 1972-83. He has a B.A. from Dartmouth College, and two M.A.'s and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University.

He has served as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Asia on the National Security Council from 1998 through 2000. His government responsibilities encompassed American policy toward all issues involving Northeast, East, and Southeast Asia. His latest book, Bending History: Barack Obama’s Foreign Policy (co-authored with Martin Indyk and Michael O’Hanlon), was published by the Brookings Press in March 2012.