Ambassador David Hale is a leader in foreign affairs. He was the Under Secretary of
State for Political Affairs from August 2018-May 2021, reporting directly to the Secretary
of State. Ambassador Hale was responsible for the conduct of U.S. foreign relations
globally. He supervised the Department’s six regional bureaus and the bureau for
international organizations, as well as all American embassies, consulates and missions
abroad. He interacted regularly with world leaders to advance America’s foreign policy,
traveled to over 50 countries in that role, and spoke to a wide variety of audiences. He
testified on a global range of topics before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. As
a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center, he has written and made media appearances on
foreign policy, with a focus on the Middle East, Afghanistan, and South Asia. His book,
"American Diplomacy toward Lebanon: Lessons in Middle East Foreign Policy" will be
published by Bloomsbury/I.B. Tauris in February 2024 as part of a Middle East Institute
policy series. He is a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center.

Ambassador Hale was in the U.S. Foreign Service for 38 years and holds the lifetime
rank of a Career Ambassador. A Career Ambassador is Senate-confirmed, the most
senior rank in the State Department, and equivalent to a four-star general. He served in
the administrations of Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump as: Ambassador to
Pakistan (2015-2018), Ambassador to Lebanon (2013-2015), Special Envoy for Middle
East Peace (2011-2013), Deputy Envoy (2009-2011), Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State covering Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinians (2008-2009),
and Ambassador to Jordan (2005-2008). In addition to his tours in Jordan and Lebanon
as ambassador, he served as a political officer and deputy chief of mission in each post.
His other overseas assignments were in Israel, Tunisia, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.

He graduated in 1983 from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, in
Washington, D.C., with a BSFS in International Relations and speaks and reads Arabic.
He has received one Presidential Distinguished and two Meritorious Rank Awards; the
Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award; State Department Superior and
Meritorious Honor awards; the Philip C. Habib Award for Distinguished Public Service
from the American Task Force for Lebanon; and, Jordan's Order of Istiqlal.