U.S. Policy in the Middle East: The Democracy Agenda

Edward S. Walker, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.

Edward S. Walker is one of the foremost U.S. experts on the politics of the Middle East. He served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs under both Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell (2000-2001), US Ambassador to Israel (1997-1999), US Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt (1994-1997), U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (1989-1992) and as Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations (1992-1993).

Upon retirement from the U.S. government he became the president of Middle East Institute in Washington, DC. In 2006 he stepped down from his post at the Middle East Institute, where he remains an adjunct scholar, to become the Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Global Political Theory at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY.

Over the course of his nearly 35 years in the U.S. foreign service Edward Walker has worked closely with most of the major political leaders of the contemporary Middle East, including every Israeli Prime Minister since Golda Meier, Presidents Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Hafez and Bashar al-Assad of Syria, Kind Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, as well as Kings Hussein and Abdullah of Jordan. He played a pivotal role in the design of the Gore-Mubarak economic development program for Egypt, and helped to initiate the negotiations with Libya which culminated in Libya's decision to abandon its weapons of mass destruction program and pay compensation to the families of Pan Am flight 103 and UTA flight 772. He continues to be involved in Middle Eastern affairs through a range of private sector projects, including advising services to Israeli companies seeking US investors and business strategy consulting for US companies interested in expansion throughout the Middle East.

Former Ambassador Walker received his BA from Hamilton College in 1963 and earned his MA in International Relations from Boston University in 1965. He attended the Royal College of Defense Studies in London and holds an honorary doctorate from Hamilton College.

Co-sponsored with the International Policy Center and The Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies.