Mihai Sora is Director of Research at the Lowy Institute, where he leads the Institute’s research agenda across programs spanning geopolitics and security, the Indo-Pacific, China, the United States, global economics, aid and development, and the international order.

Mihai brings more than 18 years of experience in international affairs, across research leadership, diplomacy, and intelligence analysis. He was previously Director of the Lowy Institute’s Pacific Islands Program, a leading global centre of Pacific policy expertise.

Before joining the Institute, Mihai served as an Australian diplomat with substantive postings to Indonesia and Solomon Islands, and operational deployments throughout the Pacific. He was a senior Pacific analyst at the Office of National Assessments — Australia’s peak intelligence assessment agency — where he briefed ministers and agency heads on the region’s most sensitive political and security developments. His diplomatic career was recognised with three Australia Day Secretary’s Citations for distinguished service.

Mihai’s research examines the strategic contest reshaping the Indo-Pacific and Australia’s role within it. He convenes high-level international delegations at the Institute and delivers tailored briefings to corporate leaders and senior officials from partner governments on the region’s most consequential strategic trends. He is a sought-after commentator for leading Australian and international media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Financial Times, The Economist, The Jakarta Post, The Straits Times, Nikkei Asia, and Al Jazeera.