Middle East Policy Forum

The Middle East Policy Forum brings leading scholars, analysts, journalists, diplomats, and policy makers to campus to discuss current and emerging issues in the region as part of our event series. The forum was established by Ambassador Skip Gnehm and is sustained with the generous support of Exxon Mobil. Since Amb. Gnehm's retirement, the Middle East Policy Forum has been run by his successor, Amb. (Ret.) Gordon Gray.

Upcoming MEPF Events

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The Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs

Ambassador (Ret.) Gordon Gray

Gordon Gray is the Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. He also directs the Middle East Policy Forum, which brings speakers to the Elliott School to discuss topical issues related to the region.

Prior to his retirement from the U.S. government after 35 years of public service, Ambassador Gray was the Deputy Commandant at the National War College. He was the U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia from 2009 until 2012, witnessing the start of the Arab Spring and directing the U.S. response in support of Tunisia’s transition. From 2008-2009, he served in Iraq as Senior Advisor to the Ambassador, focusing on governance and infrastructure in the southern provinces.

Ambassador Gray was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from 2005 until 2008; his responsibilities included the promotion of U.S. interests in the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, and oversight of the bureau’s Regional Affairs office. His other foreign assignments included Egypt (where he served as Deputy Chief of Mission from 2002 until 2005), Canada, Jordan, Pakistan, and Morocco, where he began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer. He twice received the Presidential Meritorious Service award.

Before joining the faculty at the Elliott School, Ambassador Gray was a Professor of Practice at Penn State’s School of International Affairs. He was previously Chief Operating Officer at the Center for American Progress and before that Executive Vice President at the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce.

He is a Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow at the Middle East Institute and a Non-resident Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. Ambassador Gray serves on the boards of Anera, Amideast, and the Tunisian-American Young Professionals Association, and is a member of the American Foreign Service Association and the American Academy of Diplomacy.

Ambassador Gray received his B.A. from Yale and his M.A. from Columbia, as well as an honorary M.S. from the National Defense University. He and his wife have three adult children. In addition to spending time with his family, he enjoys distance running.

Ambassador (Ret.) Edward "Skip" Gnehm

Ambassador Gnehm was born on November 10, 1944 in Carrollton, Georgia. He attended The George Washington University, graduating with a B.A. in International Affairs in 1966 and a M.A. in 1968. From 1966-1967, he attended The American University in Cairo, Egypt, under a post-graduate Rotary International Fellowship. Subsequent to graduation, Ambassador Gnehm worked for the United States Navy.

Amb. Gnehm stands with ESIA Dean Alyssa Ayres at his retirement celebration.

Ambassador Gnehm joined the faculty of the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University in August 2004 as the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Visiting Professor of International Affairs. He was appointed to his position as Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs in August 2006. He also served as Director of the Middle East Policy Forum. Prior to coming to the Elliott School, Ambassador Gnehm had a distinguished 36-year career in the United States Foreign Service. He was a member of the Senior Foreign Service and held the rank of Career Minister. His career record follows:

2001-2004, U.S. Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
2000-2001, U.S. Ambassador to Australia
1997-2000, Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Personnel for the Department of State
1994-1997, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations (New York)
1991-1994, U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait
1989-1990, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of New East and South Asian Affairs
1987-1989, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Near East and South Asia
1984-1987, Deputy Chief of Mission, American Embassy, Amman, Jordan
1983-1984, Director, Secretariat Staff, Department of State, Washington, D.C.
1982-1983, Director, Junior Officer Division, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
1978-1981, Deputy Chief of Mission, American Embassy, Sanaa, Yemen Arab Republic
1976-1978 Head, U.S. Liaison Office, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
1974-1975, Deputy Principal Officer, U.S. Interest Section, Damascus, Syria

Ambassador Gnehm has received two international decorations: Kuwait Decoration Medallion Special Class from His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Shaikh Jaber Al-Sabah and the Order of Istiqlal First Class from His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Ambassador Gnehm received the Presidential Distinguished Service Award in 2000. In 2004 Secretary of State Powell awarded Ambassador Gnehm the Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award for his work in Jordan. He also received two Presidential Meritorious Service Awards in 1990 for his public service as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, and in 1991, for his service as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. During his career he received a number of other State Department awards, including Superior Honor Awards for his service in Kuwait and Riyadh, in Washington as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, and in Taif, Saudi Arabia, as Special Envoy to the Kuwaiti Government, and Meritorious Honor Awards for his work in Damascus and Beirut. Ambassador Gnehm has been awarded two Secretary of Defense Medals for Meritorious Civilian Service: one by Secretary of Defense Carlucci for his service in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and a second by Secretary Perry for his support to U.S. forces during and after Desert Storm.

In 1993, the National U.S. Arab Chamber of Commerce recognized Ambassador Gnehm for his support for U.S. business abroad. He is also the recipient of The George Washington University's Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award (1992) and was selected in 1995 by the New York City Alumni Club as the New York City Alumnus of the Year. In 2012 he was honored as the recipient of the Jane Lingo Alumni Outstanding Service Award.

Ambassador Gnehm served seven years as a member of The George Washington University Board of Trustees and was a member of the Board's Executive Committee and Chairman of the Student Affairs Committee. He was previously Vice President of the GW Alumni and currently serves as the faculty representative to its Board of Directors.

Ambassador Gnehm was elected to the American Academy of Diplomacy in 2005. He holds leadership positions in several organizations including: the American-Kuwaiti Alliance, Chair of the Board of Directors of ANERA (American Near East Refugees Aid), the Senior Living Foundation, the Middle East Policy Council and the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Middle East Institute, DACOR (Diplomatic and Consular Officers Retired), the American Philatelic Society, the American Foreign Service Association, and Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland. He is married to the former Margaret Scott of Macon, Georgia. They have two children, Cheryl and Edward III.