__NOTOC__ Edward Peter Djerejian (born March 6, 1939) is a former United States diplomat who served in eight administrations from

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

(1962–94.) He served as the

United States Ambassador to Syria The United States ambassador to Syria is the official representative of the president of the United States to the president of Syria. From the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 until 1944, had been under the control of France as a par ...

(1988–91) and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

(1993–94), Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan and Deputy Press Secretary of Foreign Affairs (1985–1986), and was Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (1991–1993.) He was the founding director of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy (1994-2022) He is a senior fellow at the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is on the board of trustees of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Djerejian was elected chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corporation’s board of directors (2013–2015). Djerejian is the author of the book ''Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador's Journey Through the Middle East'' (Simon & Schuster, Threshold Editions, September 2008. )

Life and education

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

descent, Djerejian was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1939.U.S. State Department Archives (People)
/ref> He graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1960. Djerejian served in the US Army in Korea for the next two years, and then joined the

Foreign Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

. Besides

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, he speaks

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Career

He served as special assistant to Under Secretary of State George Ball (1962–64), a political officer in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Lebanon (1965–69) and in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

, Morocco (1969–72), executive assistant to Under Secretary of State

Joseph J. Sisco Joseph John Sisco (October 31, 1919 – November 23, 2004) was a diplomat who played a major role in then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East. His career in the State Department spanned five presidential adm ...

(1972–1975), consul general in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, France (1975–77), officer in the Bureau of European Affairs (1978–79), chief of the US Embassy's political section in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

(1979–81), deputy chief of the US Mission to

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

(1981–84), Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan and Deputy Press Secretary of Foreign Affairs (1985–1986), Deputy Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs (1986–88), Ambassador to

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

(1989–1991), Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (1991–93), United States Ambassador to

(1993–94), He was Director of the

James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, also known as the Baker Institute, is an American think tank on the campus of Rice University in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1993, it functions as a center for public policy research. It is named ...

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

(August 1994–2022). In 2021 the Baker Institute was ranked the #1 University-Affiliated Think Tank in the World by the University of Pennsylvania Global Think Tank Survey. Djerejian, as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs in an official speech at Meridian House, coined the description of the purported democratic goals of Islamic radicals as "One man, one vote, one time." Ambassador Djerejian was asked by Secretary of State Colin Powell to chair the congressionally mandated bipartisan Advisory Group on

Public Diplomacy In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influen ...

for the Arab and Muslim World which published its report in October 2003. He was Senior Policy Advisor to the congressionally mandated bipartisan

Iraq Study Group The Iraq Study Group (ISG) also known as the Baker-Hamilton Commission was a ten-person bipartisan panel appointed on March 15, 2006, by the United States Congress, that was charged with assessing the situation in Iraq and the US-led Iraq War and ...

which published its report in December 2006. In 2010, he chaired the Baker Institute's workshop that produced the report "Getting to the Territorial Endgame of an Israeli-Palestinian Peace Settlement". Djerejian is the author of the book ''Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador's Journey Through the Middle East.'' Ambassador Djerejian has been awarded the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the Department of State's

Distinguished Honor Award The Distinguished Honor Award is an award of the United States Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and USAID. It is presented to groups or i ...

, the President's Meritorious Service Award, the Anti-Defamation League’s Moral Statesman Award, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Award for Humanitarian Diplomacy from Netanya Academic College in Israel, and the Association of Rice Alumni 2009 Gold Medal—the highest honor bestowed by the association in recognition of extraordinary service to the university. Djerejian is also the recipient of the National Order of the Cedar bestowed by President Lahoud of Lebanon, the Order of Ouissam Alaouite bestowed by King

Mohammed VI of Morocco Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II. Upon ascending to the throne, Moham ...

and the Medal of Honor bestowed by President Sargsyan of Armenia. Ambassador Djerejian was Chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corporation’s Board of Directors between 2013–2015. In 2011, he was named to the board of trustees of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Vice Chairman of the Board (2018-2019). Also in 2011, Djerejian was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He served in the United States Army as a first lieutenant in the Republic of Korea following his graduation from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He holds a Bachelor of Science from

, as well as an honorary doctorate in humanities from Georgetown and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

. He is married to Françoise Andree Liliane Marie (Haelters) Djerejian. They have two children, Gregory Peter Djerejian and Francesca Natalia Djerejian, and four grandchildren, Isabel Djerejian, Sebastian Djerejian, Cassandra Colombe Vargas and Camila Ava Vargas. In October 2016 Djerejian joined other prominent Armenians on calling the government of Armenia to adopt "new development strategies based on inclusiveness and collective action" and to create "an opportunity for the Armenian world to pivot toward a future of prosperity, to transform the post-Soviet Armenian Republic into a vibrant, modern, secure, peaceful and progressive homeland for a global nation."; text also available at

Notes and references

External links

Ambassador Edward Djerejian speaks to Forward Magazine
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Djerejian, Edward Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni American people of Armenian descent Ambassadors of the United States to Israel 1939 births Living people Rice University faculty Ambassadors of the United States to Syria Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Assistant Secretaries of State for the Near East and North Africa United States Foreign Service personnel