Biography
The Honorable David M. Satterfield is the director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and leads the institute's Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East. He is also the Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy. He has more than four decades of diplomatic and leadership experience, including service as special envoy for the Horn of Africa, assistant secretary of state, National Security Council staff director, and ambassador to Lebanon and Turkey and chargé d’affaires in Iraq and Egypt. From October 2023 to May 2024, President Biden appointed him U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues to lead U.S. diplomacy in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Satterfield’s extensive bilateral and multinational negotiating background most notably includes the 1995 Roadmap for Israel-Palestinian Peace (with the United Nations), the 2000 withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from Lebanon and Blue Line boundary agreement (with the United Nations), and the 2008 Status of Forces Agreement between the U.S. and Iraq. As the State Department’s coordinator for Iraq, he managed the largest domestic staff in the department’s history and directed fundamental reforms to the Foreign Service.
As director general of the Multinational Force and Observers, Satterfield conceived and directed the comprehensive modernization of military and civilian peacekeeping operations and led fundraising efforts with the U.S. Congress and donor governments.
Among other honors, Satterfield is the recipient of the highest Department of State recognition as the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Award, the highest award for senior federal executives as the Office of Personnel Management Distinguished Federal Executive Rank Award, as well as the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service.
Satterfield is a graduate of the University of Maryland and speaks Arabic, French, and Italian. He is married to Elizabeth Ann Fritschle, a career Foreign Service officer.
Email Ambassador Satterfield’s office at JeanArd@rice.edu.
Recent Publications
Amb. David Satterfield Weighs In on Israel's Judiciary Reforms
Ambassador David Satterfield, director of the Baker Institute, joined Houston KPRC 2's Newsmakers to discuss Israel's judicial reform plan under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Outliers Turkey, Hungary Threaten NATO Unity in Standoff With Russia
“It’s a complicated, nuanced relationship,” Baker Inst. Director Amb. Satterfield, who previously served as U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said of Turkey’s ties with Russia. “But ultimately it is one which we as a NATO member find of value to the alliance.”
Amb. Satterfield Discusses Media Leadership, Transparency on Meyerside Chats Podcast
Ambassador David Satterfield, director of the Baker Institute, joined the Santa Monica Daily Press's Meyerside Chats podcast to discuss the significance of accurate narratives, the role of the media, and the challenges faced in ensuring that the American people have access to vital information.