(New York) – President Barack Obama has appointed a new coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, the White House has announced. Philip Gordon, a veteran foreign policy expert, will take up his post on March 11. The appointment came two weeks before Obama is set to visit Israel, Ramallah in the occupied Palestinian territories and Jordan.
Gordon joins a team that includes Puneet Talwar, special assistant to the president and senior director for the Gulf states, Iran and Iraq, and Prem Kumar, acting senior director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Gordon has served as assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs since May 2009, with responsibility for US policy in 50 countries, as well as NATO, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Before that, he was a foreign policy adviser to Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign and served as director for European affairs at the National Security Council under president Bill Clinton.
