Samuel Lewis
Former Ambassador to Israel, Former Director of State Department Policy Planning Staff and past President and CEO of the United States Institute of Peace
After graduating from Yale
and Johns Hopkins universities, Samuel Lewis served as a career diplomat for 33
years, holding such posts as Director of the State Department’s Policy Planning
Staff under President Clinton, Ambassador to Israel for eight years under
Presidents Carter and Reagan, Assistant Secretary for International
Organizations under President Ford, and Senior NSC Staff Member under President
Johnson, as well as assignments to overseas posts in Afghanistan, Brazil, and
Italy.
Since his initial retirement in 1985 he has served for five years as the first President and CEO of the U.S. Institute of Peace, taught courses at Georgetown University, Hamilton College, and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, worked with several “think tanks” including the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the Brookings Institution and the Council on Foreign Relations, served as Advisor or Board member for a number of non-profit organizations concerned with foreign policy in general and the Middle East in particular, including Search for Common Ground and the Israel Policy Forum, lectured widely and contributed to several books, scholarly journals and newspapers. He is the recipient of six honorary doctoral degrees and numerous other awards.
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