Michael R. Pompeo was sworn in as Secretary of State on April 26, 2018. He previously served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from January 2017 to April 2018.

Prior to joining the Trump Administration, Mr. Pompeo was serving in his fourth term as congressman from Kansas’ 4th District. He served on the House Intelligence Committee, as well as the Energy and Commerce Committee and House Select Benghazi Committee.

Prior to his service in Congress, Mr. Pompeo founded Thayer Aerospace, where he served as CEO for more than a decade. He later became President of Sentry International, an oilfield equipment manufacturing, distribution, and service company.

Mr. Pompeo graduated first in his class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986 and served as a cavalry officer patrolling the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He also served with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the US Army’s Fourth Infantry Division.

After leaving active duty, Mr. Pompeo graduated from Harvard Law School, having been an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Mr. Pompeo was born on December 30, 1963, in Orange, California. He is married to Susan Pompeo and has one son, Nick.

JJohn Bolton (born November 20, 1948; full name John Robert Bolton; also known as John R. Bolton) is a self-described "libertarian conservative" who has served in every Republican presidential administration from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump, including as U.N. ambassador under George W. Bush and as Trump's national security adviser. Outside of government, Bolton has worked for the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank; he's also shared his views on national security in publications such as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, and via appearances on Fox News; in general, he values force above diplomacy when it comes to promoting U.S. national interests. Bolton wrote a memoir titled Surrender Is Not an Option (2007).

Michael Singh is the Lane-Swig Senior Fellow and managing director at The Washington Institute and a former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council.

During his tenure at the White House from 2005 to 2008, Mr. Singh was responsible for devising and coordinating U.S. national security policy toward the region stretching from Morocco to Iran, with a particular emphasis on Iran’s nuclear and regional activities, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Syria, and security cooperation in the broader Middle East. Previously, Mr. Singh served as special assistant to secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell and at the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv.

Mr. Singh served as a Middle East advisor to the Romney presidential campaign from 2011-2012, and cochaired Mr. Romney’s State Department transition team in 2012. He served as an adjunct fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Security at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and as an economics instructor at Harvard College. Mr. Singh serves on the advisory boards of United Against Nuclear Iran and the Harvard International Review, and is a senior advisor at WestExec Advisors. He is also a member of the congressionally mandated Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States.

Mr. Singh has written extensively on the Middle East, broader US national security strategy, and the organization and management of the US national security apparatus. His writings have appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, International Security, and elsewhere, and he has appeared as a commentator on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and other outlets.

As the Institute's managing director, Mr. Singh conducts policy research and participates in the public debate over the direction and content of U.S. Middle East policy. In addition, he works closely with Institute executive director Robert Satloff to strengthen the Institute's policy impact, develop new initiatives, and oversee its broader work.

Aaron David Miller, a Vice President and Middle East Program Director at the Wilson Center, is among America’s foremost experts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. policy in the Middle East. A former adviser to six secretaries of state (George Schultz to Colin Powell), he helped shape America’s policy in the region for more than two decades. A prolific commentator, Miller is currently a global affairs analyst for CNN. He is the author of five books, including the national bestseller “The Much Too Promised Land: America's Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace,” and most recently, “The End of Greatness: Why America Can't Have (and Doesn't Want) Another Great President.”

His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States of America, took up his Washington-based post in July 2008.

In this role, Ambassador Al Otaiba enhanced UAE-US relations and improved bilateral security and economic cooperation. In addition to leading efforts that increased military, intelligence and counterterrorism cooperation between the two countries, he also played a critical role to facilitate the landmark US-UAE Agreement for Peaceful Civilian Nuclear Energy Cooperation (123 Agreement), which came into force in 2009. 

He also worked closely with his counterparts in government and with business leaders to promote greater UAE and US economic and trade ties. Since becoming Ambassador, bilateral trade increased over 70 percent, solidifying the UAE’s position as the US’ largest trading partner in the Middle East and North Africa. UAE investments in the US expanded, and prominent US healthcare, education and cultural institutions, such as Cleveland Clinic, New York University and the Guggenheim, established new UAE branches. In addition, the UAE and US governments established a formal Economic Policy Dialogue and cooperated on ways to streamline travel for Emirati nationals between the two countries.

Ambassador Al Otaiba has also led the UAE’s significant commitment to philanthropic activities in the US. The program is predicated on recognizing and advancing the strong friendship between the UAE and the United States.  As such, he facilitated a transformational gift from the Government of Abu Dhabi to launch the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, and personally assists Children’s with its fundraising efforts. Through innovative community partnerships, the UAE Embassy has already constructed five soccer fields around the US to benefit kids in underserved communities. The program will expand further in the coming years.  

Under the Ambassador’s leadership, the UAE Embassy also provided assistance to aid in the reconstruction and recovery of US communities following natural disasters, including providing significant aid to the states of New Jersey and New York following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and helping Joplin, Missouri recover after one of the largest tornados ever recorded in US history devastated the town.

Previously, Ambassador Al Otaiba served for eight years as the Director of International Affairs for the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The focus of his portfolio during this time was the strengthening of the UAE’s security and economic relations throughout the Middle East region, with the US and other nations. He served as one of the UAE’s principal security, anti-terrorism and defense liaisons to other governments, and was heavily involved in diplomatic efforts to improve regional security and defense cooperation. These efforts included working to enhance UAE enforcement of export control laws and policies, and the coordination of counter-proliferation activities with allies.

Ambassador Al Otaiba obtained a degree in international relations from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, after graduating from the Cairo American College.  He also attended the Industrial College of the US Armed Forces at the National Defense University in Washington, DC as an International Fellow.  

He and his wife Abeer have two children.

His Excellency Mr. Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir was appointed Foreign Minister by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz on April 29, 2015

Mr. Al-Jubeir was born February 1, 1962, in Majma'ah (Riyadh Province), Saudi Arabia, and attended schools in the Kingdom, Germany, Yemen, Lebanon, and the U.S.  He obtained a B.A. summa cum laude in political science and economics from the University of North Texas in 1982, and an M.A. in international relations from Georgetown University in 1984.

In 1987, Mr. Al-Jubeir was appointed to the Saudi Diplomatic Service and posted to the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, where he served as Special Assistant to the Ambassador. In 1990-91, he was part of the Saudi team that established the Joint Information Bureau at Dhahran during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.  He was a member of the GCC delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference in October 1991, and a member of the Saudi delegation to the Multilateral Arms Control Talks in Washington in 1992.  In December 1992, he was dispatched with the Saudi Armed Forces to Somalia as part of Operation Restore Hope.

Mr. Al-Jubeir was appointed Director of the Saudi Information and Congressional Affairs Office in Washington in 2000, and was named Foreign Affairs Advisor in the Crown Prince’s Court in the fall of 2000.  In August 2005, the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz appointed Mr. Al-Jubeir to the position of Advisor at the Royal Court until his appointment as ambassador to the United States on January 29, 2007, a position he held until his appointment as foreign minister.

Mr. Al-Jubeir was Visiting Diplomatic Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York, 1994-95. He has lectured at universities and academic institutions in the U.S. and has appeared frequently in the media. In 2006, he received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from the University of North Texas.

Mr. Al-Jubeir is fluent in Arabic, English and German.

Global multi-media platform team leader and business development manager; specialist in cross-cultural branding, socio-entrepreneurial programs, and communications ventures. International corporate and finance attorney, co-founder and counsel of major U.S. commercial gourmet food retail company, international television producer, global corporate and social media strategist, former diplomat, White House Middle East adviser and bi-partisan national and defense policy adviser to senior members of Congress.

As VP of Digital Media at GV, Katie Bofshever crafts innovative and creative solutions for the digital space, specializing in minority consumers.

As VP of Digital Media at GV, Katie Bofshever crafts innovative and creative solutions for the digital space, specializing in minority consumers.

As VP of Digital Media at GV, Katie Bofshever crafts innovative and creative solutions for the digital space, specializing in minority consumers.

As VP of Digital Media at GV, Katie Bofshever crafts innovative and creative solutions for the digital space, specializing in minority consumers.

As VP of Digital Media at GV, Katie Bofshever crafts innovative and creative solutions for the digital space, specializing in minority consumers.