Ambassador (Ret.) Daniel Kurtzer

Joining Princeton’s faculty in 2006 following a 29-year career in the U.S. diplomatic service, Daniel Kurtzer retired from the Foreign Service with the rank of career minister. From 2001 to 2005, he served as the United States Ambassador to Israel and from 1997 to 2001 as the United States Ambassador to Egypt. He served as a political officer at the American embassies in Cairo and Tel Aviv, deputy director of the office of Egyptian affairs, speechwriter for Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Middle East advisor on the policy planning staff, deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and principal deputy assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research. He is the author of several books and many articles on U.S. policy and the situation in the Middle East.

The topic of his talk will be:  “Is the Middle East at an Inflection Point?”

The balance sheet of crises and opportunities in the Middle East is more fluid today than it has been in recent decades. The region has not recovered from the Gaza war, but a potentially transformational transition is underway in Syria, Hezbollah has been set back, and Iran is reeling from Israeli attacks and the crumbling of its “Axis of Resistance.” Former U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer will try to make sense of these developments.