"Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Policy in the New Administration: The Middle East and Beyond."

The new administration will confront a global situation which has grown in complexity over the past four years.  Intense conflict in the Middle East and in Ukraine has interrupted the “pivot to Asia” as Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran have grown closer to one another,  Our speaker Ambassador David Satterfield is well-qualified to address these issues.  In his remarks, he will focus on the environment which the new foreign policy team will face.  In doing so, he plans to address the Middle East, Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, as well as China, Russia, and Ukraine. 

Ambassador Satterfield is the Director of the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, where he has been since 2022.  While at the Baker Institute, President Biden appointed him U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues to lead U.S. diplomacy in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.  He served in that role from October 2023 to May 2024 before returning to the Baker Institute. 

Previously, Ambassador Satterfield had a long, distinguished career at the Department of State, where he served as Ambassador to Lebanon and Turkey.  During his career, he held many positions including special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, National Security Council staff director, and Chargé d’affaires in Iraq and Egypt. The Ambassador’s extensive bilateral and multinational negotiating background most notably includes the 1995 Roadmap for Israel-Palestinian Peace (with the United Nations), the 2000 withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from Lebanon and Blue Line boundary agreement (with the United Nations), and the 2008 Status of Forces Agreement between the U.S. and Iraq.

Ambassador Satterfield is the recipient of many honors, including the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Award and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service.  Satterfield is a graduate of the University of Maryland and speaks Arabic, French, and Italian. He is married to a career Foreign Service officer and graduate of the University of Virginia.