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Frank Dikötter (born November 30, 1961) is a Dutch historian and author specializing in modern Chinese history. He has been the Chair Professor of Humanities at the University of Hong Kong since 2006 and is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. With a Ph.D. from the University of London, Dikötter has published over a dozen influential books that have transformed the understanding of China’s historical narrative, including The Discourse of Race in Modern China (1992) and China before Mao: The Age of Openness (2007).

Dikötter is best known for his People’s Trilogy, which includes Mao’s Great Famine (2010), The Tragedy of Liberation (2013), and The Cultural Revolution (2016). These works draw on newly accessible archival materials from China to document the profound impact of communism on ordinary lives. Mao’s Great Famine won the prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction in 2011, while The Tragedy of Liberation was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize in 2014.

In addition to his scholarly contributions, Dikötter has gained recognition for his popular writing, including How to be a Dictator: The Cult of Personality in the Twentieth Century, which examines the mechanisms through which dictators maintain power. His latest book, China after Mao: Rise of a Superpower, explores China’s evolution into a global power in the modern era. Dikötter’s work has been translated into multiple languages, making him a significant figure in contemporary historical discourse on China.