Current Press Releases
Ambassador Theodore Kattouf Appointed New President
of AMIDEAST,
September 12, 2003
 Ambassador
William Rugh retires after eight years of distinguished
service to the organization.
Washington, DC, September 10, 2003: Theodore Kattouf,
a 31-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service and former
ambassador to both the United Arab Emirates and Syria,
has been appointed the new president of AMIDEAST by
the organization’s Board of Directors. He began
his work on September 2, 2003 and succeeds Ambassador
William Rugh, who has retired from AMIDEAST after eight
years of distinguished service.
“It is a great honor and privilege to head this
fine organization,” said Ambassador Kattouf. “Having
spent many years working in the Arab world, I have come
to truly appreciate the vital role that AMIDEAST plays
in promoting educational exchange between the United
States and the region. I look forward to furthering
AMIDEAST’s mission of strengthening mutual understanding
and cooperation between Americans and the peoples of
the Middle East and North Africa at such a crucial time.”
Prior to representing the United States as Chief of
Mission in the United Arab Emirates and Syria, Ambassador
Kattouf had an eventful career in the U.S. Foreign Service,
which he joined in 1972.
From 1973 to 1975, Kattouf served in Kuwait as an economic
and commercial officer. He then attended the Foreign
Service Arabic Language Program in Beirut, which moved
to Tunis following the outbreak of war in Lebanon. He
was next assigned as a political officer to Damascus,
and then returned to the United States to serve as a
Middle East analyst in the State Department covering
Arab-Israeli affairs. From 1980 to 1982, he worked as
an International Relations Officer in the Department’s
Near East Bureau, where he played a key role in establishing
the Multi-National Force and Observers in the Sinai.
In 1982-83, Kattouf was a State Department mid-career
fellow at Princeton University.
From 1983 to 1986, during the Iran-Iraq war, Kattouf
served in Baghdad as Deputy Chief of Mission. He then
served in Sanaa, one year as Deputy Chief of Mission,
and one year as Chargé d'Affaires. Kattouf returned
to the United States in 1988 to serve as Deputy Director
and subsequently Director of the Office of Lebanon,
Jordan and Syrian Affairs. In 1992 he returned overseas,
first as Deputy Chief of Mission in Damascus, then as
Deputy Chief of Mission in Riyadh, where he served from
1995 to 1998. It fell to Kattouf, who was then Charge
d’Affaires, to manage the aftermath of the Khobar
Towers bombing in which nineteen American airmen perished.
He worked with former Secretary of Defense Perry to
relocate both US air assets and training elements in
the Kingdom to more secure facilities and with former
FBI Director Freeh to facilitate FBI-Saudi cooperation
in the subsequent investigation.
President Clinton nominated Kattouf as Ambassador to
the United Arab Emirates; he was confirmed by the Senate
in September 1998. During his tenure, US-UAE cooperation
significantly expanded in a number of fields intended
to bolster Gulf security and combat terrorism. The Embassy
played a particularly crucial role in concluding an
$8 billion commercial sale of US fighter aircraft and
USG-assisted training. He was then nominated by President
Bush as Ambassador to Syria and confirmed by the Senate
in August 2001.
Ambassador Kattouf assumed his position as President
and CEO of AMIDEAST on September 2, 2003. “On behalf
of the Board of Directors, I would like to welcome Ambassador
Kattouf to AMIDEAST,” stated Board Chair Dr. Mary
W. Gray. “We are pleased with the leadership that
Ambassador Rugh has provided to the organization for
the past eight years, and we have full confidence that
Ambassador Kattouf will continue to successfully guide
AMIDEAST through the new challenges and opportunities
that await us.”
America-Mideast Educational and Training Services,
Inc. (AMIDEAST) is a private, nonprofit organization
seeking to strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation
between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East
and North Africa. Every year, AMIDEAST provides appropriate
English language and skills training to thousands of
students and professionals in the Middle East and North
Africa, supports numerous institutional development
projects in the region, and administers academic exchange
programs. Founded in 1951, AMIDEAST is headquartered
in Washington, DC with a network of field offices located
in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia,
United Arab Emirates, the West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen.
For more information, contact Robert Tuttle, Program
Officer, External Affairs, at (202) 776-9600 or rtuttle@amideast.org
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