David Kenneth Schenker (born 1968) is an American diplomat who worked in the Department of Defense during the George W. Bush administration, and was nominated on April 9, 2018, to head the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in the State Department.[1][2]
David Schenker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 24th Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs | |
| In office June 14, 2019 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Anne W. Patterson |
| Succeeded by | Barbara A. Leaf |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1968 (age 55–56) New Jersey, U.S. |
| Education | University of Vermont (BA) University of Michigan (MA) American University in Cairo |
| Profession | Diplomat |
Early life
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Schenker was born in 1968 to mother Linda and father Michael Schenker, both Jewish. He grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey, graduating from Ridgewood High School in 1986. Schenker earned a B.A. at the University of Vermont in 1990, then an M.A. at the University of Michigan and Certificate, Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA), at the American University in Cairo.[1]
Schenker has spent most of his career at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, starting as an analyst after graduate school.
In 2002, Schenker temporarily left the Washington Institute to be Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel) country director in the Bush Defense Department under Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Schenker returned to the Washington Institute in 2006 and has been there since. At the time of his nomination to the State Department, Schenker was director of the institute's Program on Arab Politics.[3]
Schenker is a prolific writer, often on Hezbollah in Lebanon and about Syria. He has written two books, Dancing with Saddam: The Strategic Tango of Jordanian–Iraqi Relations (2003) and Palestinian Democracy and Governance: An Appraisal of the Legislative Council (2000).[4]
References
edit- ^ a b "David Schenker". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
- ^ "Farewell Ceremony for Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch". Retrieved December 31, 2008.
- ^ "Senate Confirms David Schenker as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs" (Press release). The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. June 5, 2019.
- ^ "Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs: Who Is David Schenker?". AllGov.