Press Release

Ambassador (ret.) Edward P. Djerejian Named Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative

June 02, 2022

The Middle East Initiative (MEI) at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is pleased to announce that Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Syria, will serve as a Senior Fellow this coming academic year.

Ambassador Djerejian will share with students his experience in the Middle East, reflect on important lessons learned during his diplomatic career, and explore options for resolving seemingly intractable conflicts in the region and beyond.

“I have been an admirer of Ed Djerejian ever since I was a high school student,” said Tarek Masoud, Director of the Middle East Initiative and Ford Foundation Professor for Democracy and Governance. “He stands for me as an exemplar of the kind of American national security official the Kennedy School aspires to produce: deeply committed to public service; deeply analytical; and deeply knowledgeable about the culture, politics, and histories of the peoples and societies with which he is engaged. His time in office was a high-water mark for U.S. policy in the Middle East, and I am beyond excited for the students who will have the opportunity to learn from him.”

Ambassador Djerejian brings to MEI unparalleled depth of experience in diplomacy, Middle Eastern Affairs, and leadership in higher education. He joins MEI after nearly three decades as the founding director of Rice University's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. Previously, Ambassador Djerejian led a distinguished career in the U.S. Foreign Service, spanning eight presidential administrations from John F. Kennedy to William Jefferson Clinton. Djerejian served as U.S. ambassador to Israel (1993-1994), assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs (1991-1993), U.S. ambassador to Syria (1988-1991), and in diplomatic posts in Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon, France, and Moscow. At the request of then Secretary of State Colin Powell, Djerejian chaired the congressionally mandated bipartisan Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy in the Arab and Muslim World. He also served as senior advisor to the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel mandated by Congress to assess the conflict in Iraq. 

Ambassador Djerejian said, “I am honored to be affiliated with the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. I look forward with great anticipation to engaging with Harvard students, fellows, and faculty to study and address the key issues the broader Middle East region faces, and to also draw on my Foreign Service career to provide impactful policy options for decision-makers in the conduct of United States diplomacy.”

Djerejian is a graduate of Georgetown University’s Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service, and the author of Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador's Journey Through the Middle East. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the Department of State's Distinguished Honor Award, the Anti-Defamation League’s Moral Statesman Award, Lebanon’s National Order of the Cedar, Morocco’s Order of Ouissam Alaouite bestowed, and Armenia’s Medal of Honor.

Contact: Alison Hillegeist, Associate Director of the Middle East Initiative (ahillegeist@hks.harvard.edu).

For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation:Ambassador (ret.) Edward P. Djerejian Named Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative .” Press Release, June 2, 2022.