Jacob Walles (born 1957) was the

U.S. Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the President of the United States, president to serve as the country's diplomat, diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as Ambassador-at-large, ...

to the

Republic of Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

from July 24, 2012, to September 2, 2015. He is a retired career diplomat who spent much of his career addressing the

Arab-Israeli conflict The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

. He also served as Senior Advisor on Foreign Fighters in the Bureau of Counterterrorism in the Department of State from September 2015 to January 2017. He is currently a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. On December 14, 2011, President Obama nominated Walles to be U.S. Ambassador to the Tunisian Republic. Walles was sworn in as Ambassador to Tunisia by Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

on June 21, 2012, and he presented his credentials to Tunisian President Marzouki on July 24, 2012. He was the Ambassador in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

when the U.S. Embassy was attacked on September 14, 2012, in the wake of the ''

Innocence of Muslims ''Innocence of Muslims'' is an anti-Islamic short film that was written and produced by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. Two versions of the 14-minute video were uploaded to YouTube in July 2012, under the titles "The Real Life of Muhammad" and "Muhamm ...

'' controversy. President Beji Caid Essebsi decorated Walles as "Grand Officier de l'Ordre de la République" in August 2015 in recognition of his work to promote relations between the United States and Tunisia. From 2009 to 2010, he was the Cyrus Vance fellow for diplomatic studies at the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

. From June 2010 to April 2012, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs. Walles was U.S. consul general and chief of mission in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

from July 2005 to August 2009. In that capacity, Walles was instructed to inform Palestinian President

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Natio ...

that the

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

government was unacceptable. Walles's talking points said, "If you act along these lines, we'll support you both materially and politically".Paul McGeough, ''Kill Khalid: Mossad’s Failed Hit…and the Rise of Hamas'' (Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin, 2009), p. 356. Walles also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Athens from 2003 to 2005, as Deputy Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem from 1996 to 1998, as Economic Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv from 1988 to 1991, and as Vice Consul in Amsterdam from 1982 to 1984. He was born in Wilmington,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. Walles is a graduate of

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

and the School of Advanced International Studies of

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

. He is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy.

References

External links

* , - 1957 births American consuls Date of birth missing (living people) Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni Living people Wesleyan University alumni 21st-century American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Tunisia {{US-diplomat-stub