 U.S. Ambassador to Egypt
Mr. Daniel Kurtzer
Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, was confirmed as Ambassador to Egypt by the U.S. Senate on November 6, 1997. Ambassador Kurtzer, of Silver Spring, Maryland, has been in the Foreign Service since 1976, and holds the rank of Minister-Counselor. He began his Foreign Service career in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, where he worked on U.N. political, economic, humanitarian, and development issues. Subsequently, he left the State Department to take up an appointment as Dean of Yeshiva College, the undergraduate men’s college of Yeshiva University in New York. He was reappointed to the Foreign Service in 1979, and assigned as second secretary for political affairs at the American Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. In 1982, he was appointed first secretary for political affairs at the American Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. Mr. Kurtzer returned to Washington in 1986 to successive assignments as deputy director for Egyptian Affairs, and as speechwriter and member of the Secretary’s Policy Planning Staff. In 1989, he was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, with responsibility for the Middle East peace process and U.S. bilateral relations with Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon and the Palestinians. In 1994, Mr. Kurtzer was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research, and became the Acting Assistant Secretary in May 1997. Mr. Kurtzer was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He received his B.A. in 1971 from Yeshiva University, and two Masters degrees and his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1976. Yeshiva University Journal, The Commentator Volume 62 Issue 5 Kurtzer Appointed Ambassador to Egypt Alumnus and Former YC Dean Heads for CairoBY ADAM MOSES Daniel C. Kurtzer, an alumnus and former Dean of YC, was nominated and confirmed to serve in the top United States position in Cairo. The career diplomat will depart his post as acting Assistant Secretary of State and assume control of the Ambassadorial reins in Egypt later this year. As part of a U.S. Department of State effort to fill open Ambassadorial positions in Israel, Jordan, and Syria, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright decided to give outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Edward Walker the coveted Tel Aviv assignment to head off political machinations that she anticipated would result in the nomination of a candidate unacceptable to her. This left Egypt open for Kurtzer, a seasoned statesman with previous experience in Cairo. Kurtzer graduated from Yeshiva College in 1971 and subsequently enrolled in a Columbia University doctoral program in Middle East history. Upon receiving his Ph.D., Kurtzer embarked upon what would become a distinguished career in the United States Foreign Service and State Department. In 1977, a mere six years following the receipt of his undergraduate degree, Kurtzer left the Foreign Service to return to YC for a brief stint as Dean of that school. At 28, he was the youngest college dean to ever serve the University. In a quirk of YU history, he signed his brother Benjamin’s diploma at the 1979 Commencement Exercises. Kurtzer then resumed his career in the Foreign Service. Despite earlier indications that his identity as a Jew might preclude service in the Arab world, Kurtzer’s perseverance was rewarded with a posting at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo in 1979. He brought his wife, Sheila, and his three young sons to Egypt with him where the family continued to live as observant Jews despite difficulties obtaining kosher meat and locating Jewish prayer services. In 1982, Kurtzer was transferred to Tel Aviv where he served as First Secretary of Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy there. After four years in that position, Kurtzer returned to Washington to join then Secretary of State George Schultz’s elite corps of policy advisers on Middle East policy under the Reagan administration. The Bush administration ushered in James Baker as Secretary of State with whom Kurtzer worked closely and became friendly. Kurtzer later served as Principal Deputy Assistant Undersecretary of State for Intelligence and Research and most recently as acting Assistant Secretary of State until receiving his Ambassadorial appointment. Kurtzer, his wife, and their three sons reside in Silver Spring, Maryland, a quaint suburb of Washington, D.C
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