Jeffrey D. Feltman

Jeffrey David Feltman (born 1959)[1] is an American diplomat and former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs. As head of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs Feltman oversaw the UN's diplomatic efforts to prevent and mitigate conflict worldwide.

Jeffrey Feltman
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
In office August 18, 2009 – June 2012
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	David Welch
Succeeded by	Anne W. Patterson
United States Ambassador to Lebanon
In office 2004–2008
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Vincent M. Battle
Succeeded by	Michele J. Sison
Personal details
Born	Jeffrey David Feltman 1959 (age 61–62) Greenville, Ohio, U.S.
Education	Ball State University (BA) Tufts University (MA)

Early life and education

Feltman was born to Christian parents in Greenville, Ohio in 1959. He received his undergraduate degree in history and fine arts from Ball State University in Indiana in 1981 and his Master's degree in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1983.[2] He speaks Hebrew, English, French, and Hungarian.

Career

Feltman joined the United States Foreign Service in 1986, serving his first tour as consular officer in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He served as an economic officer at the U.S. Embassy in Hungary from 1988-91. From 1991 to 1993, Feltman served in the office of the Deputy Secretary of State, Lawrence Eagleburger, as a Special Assistant concentrating on the coordination of U.S. assistance to Eastern and Central Europe.[3]

After a year of Arabic studies at the University of Jordan in Amman, Feltman served in the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv from 1995 to 1998, covering economic issues in the Gaza Strip. From 1998 to 2000, Feltman served as Chief of the Political and Economic Section at the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia. He served in Embassy Tel Aviv as Ambassador Martin Indyk's Special Assistant on Peace Process issues from 2000 to 2001. He then moved to the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem, where he served first as Deputy (August 2001–November 2002) and then as Acting Principal Officer (November 2002 to December 2003).

Feltman volunteered to serve at the Coalition Provisional Authority office in Irbil, Iraq, from January to April 2004. from which he moved on to become the United States Ambassador to Lebanon from July 2004 to January 2008.

Feltman served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from August 2009 to June 2012 with the rank of Career Minister, before taking his post at the United Nations.

In September 2017, Feltman announced his support for Palestinian statehood, stating "Economic development, critical as it is, is no substitute for sovereignty and statehood."[4]

References

1. Jeffrey David Feltman profile, State.gov; accessed September 19, 2017.
2. "Mr. Jeffrey Feltman of the United States of America - Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs". United Nations Secretary-General. 2017-02-14. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
3. "Jeffrey Feltman". Brookings. 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
4. "UN Under-Secretary- General Jeffrey Feltman says it's time to deliver". Jpost.com. Retrieved 24 September 2017.