Marc J. Sievers Named Inaugural Diplomat-in-Residence
(WASHINGTON, DC – September 23, 2014) Marc J. Sievers, who just concluded service as U.S. deputy chief of mission and charge d'affaires in Cairo, has joined the staff of The Washington Institute as its inaugural Diplomat-In-Residence, the research organization announced today.
"We are thrilled to welcome a foreign policy practitioner who combines a broad strategic understanding of the Middle East with deep experience in the field," said Executive Director Robert Satloff, who holds the Howard Berkowitz chair in U.S. Middle East Policy. "Marc's presence will inform and enrich our work as we confront the dramatic changes sweeping the region."
Mr. Sievers's appointment to the Institute was made possible through a cooperative program with the U.S. Department of State that places an active-duty foreign service officer with the Institute for one year. It follows the ten-month tenure of David Makovsky, the Institute's Ziegler Distinguished Fellow, on the staff of Secretary of State John Kerry's Israeli-Palestinian peace process team. While Mr. Sievers is the first Institute's first Diplomat-in-Residence, the organization has a longstanding fellowship program with the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force in which rising officers spend a year at the Institute studying Middle East policy and contributing to the organization's research. Institute military fellows have gone on to hold important positions in the U.S. armed services in the Middle East and around the globe. This year the Institute also welcomes its first fellow from the U.S. Navy, Cdr. Chad G. Wahlin.
A career member of the senior foreign service with the rank of minister-counselor, Mr. Sievers has held a range of posts in Washington and across the Middle East since joining the State Department in 1981. In addition to his service in Cairo, he has served as political minister-counselor at the embassy in Baghdad, counselor for political affairs in Tel Aviv, and as deputy chief of mission in Algiers. In addition, he volunteered as senior advisor to Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Baghdad. He served previously as political-counselor in Riyadh, deputy political counselor in Ankara, and as a political officer in Rabat and Cairo.
"I am delighted to have this opportunity to spend a year with one of Washington's premier centers for the study of the Middle East," said Mr. Sievers. "Providing the foreign policy community with unique insights and new ideas to promote peace, security, and prosperity in one of the world's most volatile regions is a vital national security priority and I look forward to contributing to that effort."
Mr. Sievers received a BA in history from the University of Utah in 1978 and the degree of master of international affairs from Columbia University in 1980. He has received numerous awards over his career, including three State Department Superior Honor Awards and four Meritorious Honor Awards, as well as the director of central intelligence's Superior Collector Award and the American Foreign Service Association's Sinclaire Language Award for his achievements in the study of the Arabic language and culture.
About the Institute: The Washington Institute is an independent, nonpartisan research institution that advances a balanced and realistic understanding of U.S. interests in the broader Middle East. Drawing on the expertise of its fellows, the Institute promotes informed debate and scholarly research on U.S. policy in the region.
Contact: Brittany Parker, media liason, email or 202-452-0650