Forging a New Model for U.S. Engagement in the Middle East
Retired Ambassador Richard LeBaron
Ambassador Richard LeBaron retired from the U.S. diplomatic service in April 2012 after a thirty-three year career. In his final position at the Department of State, LeBaron was the founding Coordinator of the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications. This interagency organization designed and implemented campaigns to counter the appeal of terrorist groups to potential recruits. LeBaron’s final foreign posting was Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in London from August 2007 to August 2010.
Previous to his assignment to London, Mr. LeBaron served as the U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait (2004-2007). He was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv (2001-2004). LeBaron was Minister-Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs at the Embassy of the United States in Cairo, Egypt (1998 to 2001).
While posted in Washington from 1991 to 1998, LeBaron served in three positions related to the Middle East: Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs at the National Security Council, Director of the Peace Process and Regional Affairs Office in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State, and Public Affairs Adviser for the Near Eastern Bureau. From 1991 to 1993, Mr. LeBaron was Political Officer in the State Department’s Office of European Community Affairs.
Currently Ambassador LeBaron is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington. He organized a two-year dialogue between prominent figures in the Gulf and their American counterparts, resulting in two Council publications. In addition to his focus on United States – Gulf relations, he has written for the Council and other publications on the importance of people-to-people links between Americans and Middle Easterners and has written about prospects for Israeli/Arab reconciliation.
Ambassador LeBaron is a member of the Advisory Board of Global Ties, the umbrella organization that supports the work of international visitor councils all over the United States. He received a BA from the University of Colorado and an MA from George Washington University.