Gordon Gray III

Gordon Gray. Official U.S. State Department photo

Gordon Gray III is a United States Foreign Service Officer and career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor. He is the U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia, a post he has held since September 2009 after his appointment to the position by President Barack Obama.^[1][2]

Biography

Gordon Gray III was born in New York City in 1956. He attended Yale University, receiving a his B.A. in Political Science in 1978. Gray later served in the Peace Corps in Oued Zim, Morocco until 1980. He then attended Columbia University, from which he graduated in 1982 with an M.A. in International Affairs.^[1]

Gray began his Foreign Service career in 1982. His first tours of duty included postings in Karachi, Amman, and Ottawa. He was appointed as Director of Counterterrorism Regional Affairs Office at the United States Department of State in 1996 and held the post until 1999. He was then appointed as the Director of the Office of Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Operations from 1999 to 2001. Between 2002 and 2005, Gray served as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. While holding this post, Gray became the first diplomat to visit Tripoli in 2004.^[1]

In 2005, Gray served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs in the State Department, a position which he held until mid-2008. He then spent eleven months in Baghdad as a Senior Advisor to then-U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. There, Gray spent much of his time traveling in the south of Iraq assessing the reestablishment of governance and infrastructure in the southern provinces.^[3]

Gray was officially sworn in as the United States Ambassador to Tunisia in August 2009, assuming his post the following month.^[4]

Turmoil in Tunisia

Gray's tenure has seen him involved in two diplomatic incidents relating to Tunisia. During the release of classified State Department cables by WikiLeaks, it was revealed that Gray criticized the Tunisian government's human rights record and its policies relating to press freedom. In WikiLeaks cables, Gray has also commented on the political aptitude of Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi,^[5] who temporarily assumed control of the country following former President Ben Ali's departure, stating that "it appears Ben Ali has come to view him as indispensable." During protests which contributed to President Ben Ali's departure, Gray was summoned to explain American encouragement of political demonstration and the American response stating that Tunisia had used excessive violence against protesters.^[6] U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley stated that the purpose of Gray's meeting was to express the Obama administration's wariness toward said violence, with 27 protesters having died before the meeting took place.^[7] The U.S. response to Tunisian riots was poorly received, and as such it was Gray who was called to explain the reasons for the Obama administration's condemnation of the Ben Ali regime's handling of the unrest.^[8] In regard to the Tunisian political upheaval in January 2011, Ambassador Gray has came out calling for both protesters and government forces alike to act with responsibility, noting that democratic demonstrations are a "new phenomenon" in Tunisia^[9]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Bewig, Matt; Wallechinsky, David. "Ambassador to Tunisia: Who Is Gordon Gray?". AllGov. http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/Ambassador_to_Tunisia__Who_Is_Gordon_Gray_90920. Retrieved 20 January 2011. 
2. ^ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". White House. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-More-Key-Administration-Posts-6-11-09/. Retrieved 20 January 2011. 
3. ^ Turner, Sgt. David. "Senior Diplomat Visits Leaders in Iraqi Province". DoD. http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50800. Retrieved 20 January 2011. 
4. ^ "Ambassador Gordon Gray". Embassy of the United States. http://tunisia.usembassy.gov/ambassador2.html. Retrieved 20 January 2011. 
5. ^ "Tunisian Embassy Cable". Al-Akhbar. 8 December 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5vkEFzytw. Retrieved 20 January 2011. 
6. ^ "Tunisian Government Closes Schools As Unrest Spreads". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 11 January 2011. http://www.rferl.org/content/tunisia_government_closes_schools_unrest/2273309.html. Retrieved 20 January 2011. 
7. ^ "Tunisia summons US ambassador". PressTV. http://www.presstv.ir/detail/159589.html. Retrieved 20 January 2011. 
8. ^ "Tunisia summons US ambassador over riot comments". Associated Press. 10 January 2011. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110110/ap_on_re_af/af_north_africa_riots_7. Retrieved 20 January 2011. 
9. ^ "Swiss to freeze Ben Ali funds". Al Jazeera English. 19 January 2011. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/2011119656347895.html. Retrieved 20 January 2011. 

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Name	Gray Iii, Gordon
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Date of birth	1956
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