Shapiro, Daniel B., 1969-

Daniel B. "Dan" Shapiro (born August 1, 1969) is a diplomat and former Ambassador of the United States of America to the State of Israel. He was nominated by President Barack Obama on March 29, 2011, and confirmed by the Senate on May 29. He was sworn in as ambassador by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on July 8, 2011. Previously, he was the senior director for the Middle East and North Africa on the United States National Security Council. As an Obama administration political appointee, Shapiro was ordered on January 5, 2017, to resign upon the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

Shapiro joined INSS in March 2017 as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow. At INSS he will participate in several of the Institute’s research programs, including those on Israel-U.S. Relations, Israeli-Palestinian Relations, the Arab World, and Israeli Society and Public Opinion. Ambassador Shapiro has also become a frequent contributor to leading publications, including Foreign Policy and The Atlantic.

As United States ambassador to Israel (July 2011-January 2017). In that role, he participated in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, U.S.-Israel discussions on the Iran nuclear agreement, and negotiations on the $38 billion Memorandum of Understanding for U.S. military assistance to Israel Prior to that he was Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Security Council at the White House, where he served as a member of Special Envoy George Mitchell's team, led U.S. diplomatic efforts in Syria and Lebanon, and advised President Obama through the early months of the upheavals in Arab states in 2011. He previously served in numerous senior advisory positions in the U.S. Congress. He was a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Ambassador Shapiro has taught at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He holds a B.A. from Brandeis University and an M.A. from Harvard University.

Shapiro is married to Julie Fisher. The couple has three daughters. They are members of the Conservative Jewish Adas Israel Congregation in Washington. In addition to English, Shapiro speaks Hebrew and Arabic.