Walles, Jacob, 1957-

Jacob Walles is a retired career diplomat who spent much of his career addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict. He notably served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia from July 24, 2012 to September 2, 2015 and as Senior Advisor on Foreign Fighters in the Bureau of Counterterrorism in the Department of State from September 2015 to January 2017. He is currently a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

On December 14, 2011, President Obama nominated Walles to be U.S. Ambassador to the Tunisian Republic. Walles was sworn in as Ambassador to Tunisia by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on June 21, 2012, and he presented his credentials to Tunisian President Marzouki on July 24, 2012. He was the Ambassador in Tunis when the U.S. Embassy was attacked on September 14, 2012, in the wake of the Innocence of Muslims controversy. President Beji Caid Essebsi decorated Walles as "Grand Officier de l'Ordre de la République" in August 2015 in recognition of his work to promote relations between the United States and Tunisia.

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