Barbara Leaf and Regional Diplomacy

Barbara Leaf

As Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Barbara Leaf managed field-level practical diplomacy and regional coordination for the Biden administration. She worked closely with Gulf states, Jordan, and Egypt to secure humanitarian routes to Gaza and build frameworks for post-war governance and reforms.

Timeline

Category
Element

Year	Barbara Leaf
1958	Birth of Barbara Leaf (Period: Born 1958 (exact date unpublicized), Location: Not confirmed in public records)
1970	College of William & Mary (Age: 12 years old, Period: Late 1970s to 1980, Location: Williamsburg, Virginia, United States)
1980	Start of Career as a US Department of State Diplomat (Age: 22 years old, Period: 1980s Onward (Exact Hire Date Not Public), Location: Washington, D.C., United States and US Diplomatic Missions Abroad) University of Virginia (Age: 22 years old, Period: 1980 Onward (Enrollment and Completion Years Not in Public Records), Location: Charlottesville, Virginia, United States) Service as U.S. Department of State/Foreign Service Officer (Age: 22 years old, Period: 1980s onward, Location: United States of America and U.S. Diplomatic Missions Abroad)
1990	Kuwait Desk Officer During the First Gulf War (Age: 32 years old, Period: 1990–1991, Location: Washington, D.C., United States of America)
1995	Post-Bosnia Conflict Reconstruction and Ethnic Conflict (Age: 37 years old, Period: 1995–2006, Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina (Tuzla, Sarajevo, etc.))
1996	Middle East Desk Duties at the US Embassy in Paris (Age: 38 years old, Period: 1996–2000, Location: Paris, France)
2000	Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the US Embassy in Rome (Age: 42 years old, Period: Late 2000s to 2010, Location: Rome, Italy)
2001	Establishment of Weapons of Mass Destruction Countermeasures at Diplomatic Facilities (Age: 43 years old, Period: 2001–2003, Location: Washington, D.C., United States of America)
2003	Political and Security Issues Following the Iraq War and US Military Withdrawal (Age: 45 years old, Period: 2003–2013, Location: Iraq (Baghdad, Basra, etc.)) Regional Head of the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Age: 45 years old, Period: 2003–2004, Location: Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
2004	Political Counselor at the US Embassy in Sarajevo (Age: 46 years old, Period: 2004–2006, Location: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
2006	Appointment as First Director of the Office of Iranian Affairs at the Department of State (Age: 48 years old, Period: 2006–, Location: Washington, D.C., United States of America)
2010	Head of the Basra Provincial Reconstruction Team (Age: 52 years old, Period: 2010–2011, Location: Basra, Iraq)
2011	Syrian Civil War (Age: 53 years old, Period: 2011–present, Location: Syria) Appointment as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq Affairs at the Department of State (Age: 53 years old, Period: 2011–2013, Location: Washington, D.C., United States, and Iraq)
2013	Appointment as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the Department of State (Age: 55 years old, Period: 2013–2014, Location: Washington, D.C., United States of America)
2014	Yemeni Civil War (Age: 56 years old, Period: 2014–2025, Location: Yemen (Sanaa, Aden, etc.)) Appointment as US Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (Age: 56 years old, Period: November 2014 – March 2018, Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
2018	Researcher at the Washington Institute and Director of the Arab Politics Program (Age: 60 years old, Period: 2018–2021, Location: Washington, D.C., United States of America)
2021	Senior Director for Middle East and North Africa Affairs at the National Security Council in the Biden Administration (Age: 63 years old, Period: January 2021 – May 2022, Location: Washington, D.C., United States of America)
2022	Appointment as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (Age: 64 years old, Period: May 31, 2022 – January 2025, Location: Washington, D.C., United States of America)
2023	Sudan Civil War (Age: 65 years old, Period: April 2023 – January 2025 (During Tenure as Assistant Secretary of State), Location: Sudan (Khartoum, Darfur, etc.)) Israel–Hamas War (Age: 65 years old, Period: October 2023–, Location: Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories)
2024	Visit to Syria Following the Fall of the Assad Regime and Diplomatic Engagement with the New Leadership (Age: 66 years old, Period: December 2024, Location: Damascus, Syria)
2025	Resignation from the Department of State (Age: 67 years old, Period: January 2025, Location: Washington, D.C., United States of America) Special Diplomatic Fellow at the Middle East Institute (Age: 67 years old, Period: 2025 Onward, Location: Washington, D.C., United States of America) International Policy Advisor at Arnold & Porter (Age: 67 years old, Period: 2025 Onward, Location: United States of America)
Unknown	Marriage (Barbara Leaf, No Public Information Available Regarding Spouse, Period: Not Confirmed, Location: Not Confirmed) No Confirmed Major Fraud or Corruption Incidents (Period: Official Records Not Confirmed)

Map

Category
Element

United States World

Group	List
The White House	Susan Rice Anita Dunn Joe Biden Kamala Devi Harris Ronald Alan Klain Jeffrey Dunston Zients Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan Stephen John Ricchetti Michael C. Donilon Jennifer Rene Psaki Karine Jean-Pierre Catherine Joan Bedingfield Julie Chávez Rodríguez
Palestinian problem	Joe Biden Mahmoud Abbas Antony Blinken Lloyd Austin Jake Sullivan Brett McGurk Barbara Leaf Amos Hochstein Robert Malley Linda Thomas-Greenfield Benjamin Netanyahu Isaac Herzog

People Timeline

Barbara Leaf and Regional Diplomacy

Barbara Leaf

Timeline

Map

Related Links

Other Languages

References

Comments

About

Other Languages