Ambassador Susan L. Ziadeh enjoyed a 23-year career with the U.S. Department of State where she most recently served as the acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Peninsula Affairs (2014-2016). She served as the U.S. Ambassador to the State of Qatar from 2011-2014. She held senior leadership positions in Riyadh, Baghdad, and Bahrain as well as postings in Kuwait, Amman and Jerusalem.

Currently a Middle East strategic advisor based in Washington, Ambassador Ziadeh is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. Ambassador Ziadeh is a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, a member of the Middle East Institute’s Board of Governors, a member of the International Advisors Council for the American University of Beirut, Lebanon and a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy.

A recipient of the Department of State’s Distinguished Honor Award, she also received the Department of State’s 2007 Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy and the 2014 Arnold L. Raphel Memorial Award for Leadership. In 2015, she was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Department’s highest civilian award.

A Fulbright scholar in Egypt and Lebanon, Ambassador Ziadeh earned a PhD in History from the University of Michigan, an M.A. from the American University of Beirut, an M.S. from the National War College, National Defense University, and a B.A. from the University of Washington.