Jeffrey Feltman

Jeffrey Feltman is a non-resident Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Mr. Feltman is the John C. Whitehead Visiting Fellow in International Diplomacy in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution and a Senior Fellow at the UN Foundation, both based in Washington, D.C.   He is also a member of the Board of Advisers to the Dialogue Advisory Group, a member of the Advisory Council of the Berghof Foundation, and a Senior Advisor to the European Institute of Peace.  He also sits on the Board of Governors of the Middle East Institute, where he co-chairs MEI’s International Advisory Council, and serves on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Diplomacy.   

Mr. Feltman was appointed as the first U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, a position he held from April 2021 until January 2022.  He worked to promote peace and stability in that critically important region, focusing in particular on the transition in Sudan and the conflict in northern Ethiopia.   

From July 2012 until his April 2018 retirement, Mr. Feltman served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs.  Frequently briefing the Security Council on peace and security issues, Mr. Feltman was the chief foreign policy advisor to the Secretary-General and traveled extensively, including to Pyongyang in December 2017.  He oversaw UN mediation and conflict prevention work and provided guidance to UN Special Representatives and Envoys heading UN political missions. 

Before joining the UN, Mr. Feltman was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, focused largely on the Middle East and North Africa.  From 2009 until 2012, Mr. Feltman was the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.  Prior to his 2004-2008 tenure as U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, he served in Erbil, Baghdad, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Tunis, Amman, Budapest, and Port-au-Prince.  He is the recipient of two Presidential Service awards and several State Department Superior Honor awards. 

A native of Greenville, Ohio, Mr. Feltman has a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a bachelor’s degree with dual majors in history and art from Ball State University.  In 2013, Ball State awarded him with an honorary doctorate.  His wife, Mary Draper, is a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer.