The Honorable Edward P. Djerejian’s Foreign Service career spanned eight U.S. administrations, from John F. Kennedy to William J. Clinton. Prior to his nomination as U.S. ambassador to Israel, he was assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs in both the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations. He was previously the U.S. ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic. He also served as special assistant to President Ronald Reagan and as deputy press secretary for foreign affairs in the White House. Following his retirement from government service, Djerejian became the founding director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

He is the author of “Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador’s Journey Through 
the Middle East.” He has been awarded the Presidential Distinguished Service Award; the Department of State’s Distinguished Honor Award; the Ellis Island Medal of Honor; the Anti-Defamation League’s Moral Statesman Award; the Award for Humanitarian Diplomacy from Netanya Academic College in Israel; the National Order of the Cedar, bestowed by President Émile Lahoud of Lebanon; the Order of Ouissam Alaouite, bestowed by King Mohammed VI of Morocco; and the Order of Honor, bestowed by President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia. He is also a recipient of the Association of Rice Alumni’s Gold Medal for his service to Rice University.

Djerejian is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a member of the board of trustees of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.