David M. Satterfield
David Michael Satterfield (born December 18, 1954) is an American diplomat and ambassador, who has served extensively in the Middle East, including the Persian Gulf area, Lebanon, and Iraq. He later served as a senior advisor on Iraq for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and was director general of the Multinational Force and Observers, the peacekeeping force for the Sinai Peninsula from June 2009 until August 2017. He was chargé d'affaires to Egypt from August 2013 to January 2014 and was subsequently Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for Libya. From September 2017 to June 2019 he served as the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and was confirmed as U.S. ambassador to Turkey on June 27, 2019.
David Satterfield | |
|---|---|
| United States Ambassador to Turkey | |
| In office August 28, 2019 – January 7, 2022 | |
| President | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
| Deputy | Scott M. Oudkirk |
| Preceded by | John R. Bass |
| Succeeded by | Jeff Flake |
| Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs | |
| In office September 2017 – June 2019 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Anne W. Patterson |
| Succeeded by | David Schenker |
| United States Ambassador to Lebanon | |
| In office September 23, 1998 – June 10, 2001 | |
| President | Bill Clinton George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Richard Henry Jones |
| Succeeded by | Vincent M. Battle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 18, 1954 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Fritschle |
| Education | University of Maryland, College Park (BA) |
On February 15, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intention to appoint Satterfield as the next United States Ambassador to Turkey, succeeding John Bass. On May 17, 2019, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley placed a hold on Satterfield over a dispute with the State Department regarding a new terrorism bill. On June 27, 2019, Satterfield was confirmed by the Senate.
In January 2022, David Satterfield became the new U.S. envoy for the Horn of Africa, a position he held until June 2022. On May 31, Rice University announced that Satterfield would become the new director of Rice University's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, succeeding Edward Djerejian.
In October 2023, during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, President Joe Biden appointed Satterfield as special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues in Gaza.