Academic Year 2009-2010: Upcoming Lectures

How is President Obama Doing in the Middle East?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 5:30PM
Cabot Intercultural Center, 7th floor, The Fletcher School
Speaker: Robert H. Pelletreau, Former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs

Speaker Biography

Robert H. Pelletreau served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (1994-1997), and as U.S. Ambassador to Egypt (1991-1993), Tunisia (1987-1991), and Bahrain (1979-1980). Other assignments in his 35-year career in the Foreign Service included posts in Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, and Syria, as well as senior positions in the Departments of State and Defense. While in Tunisia, Pelletreau conducted the U.S. dialogue with the P.L.O. As Ambassador to Egypt, he joined the U.S. delegation to the 1991 Madrid Middle East Peace Conference. And as Assistant Secretary, he traveled frequently to the region as a member of Secretary Christopher’s negotiation team. During this period, he also played a key role in the development and implementation of U.S. policies toward North Africa, the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and the Gulf. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Foreign Service Association, and the American Academy of Diplomacy, and serves on the boards of several Middle East-related organizations. Pelletreau graduated from Yale University (B.A., 1957) and Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1961).

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