Pelletreau, Robert H. (Robert Halsey), Jr., 1935-

<p>When Secretary of State George P. Shultz picked Robert H. Pelletreau Jr. as the sole authorized contact between the United States and the Palestine Liberation Organization, it was not the first time the 26-year Foreign Service veteran had been tapped for a highly sensitive mission.</p>
<p>In June 1985, Mr. Pelletreau was assigned by the State Department to be one of two heads of an interagency task force charged with gathering information during the hijacking of a Trans World Airlines jet, a 17-day ordeal that ended in Beirut on June 30 when the hijackers released their last 39 American hostages.</p>
<p>Mr. Pelletreau, who speaks French and Arabic, has long been a player in Middle East peace efforts. As Deputy Under Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs from 1983 to 1985, Mr. Pelletreau was deeply involved in trying to arrange an international conference on the Middle East and determining the proper representation for the Palestinians in such a conference.</p>
<p>The 53-year-old diplomat is currently serving as Ambassador to Tunisia, his second ambassadorial post. Mr. Pelletreau was Ambassador to Bahrain in 1979-80. With Naval Reserve</p>
<p>Before the announcement tonight that he would serve as a conduit to the P.L.O., Mr. Pelletreau was mentioned as a candidate to succeed Richard W. Murphy as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs in the Bush Administration.</p>
<p>Born July 9, 1935, in Patchogue, L.I., Robert Halsey Pelletreau (prounounced PELL-ah-trow) received a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1957 and served in the United States Naval Reserve from 1957 to 1958. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1961 and was admitted to the bar in New York State, working for a year as an associate in the law firm of Chadbourne Parke Whiteside and Wolff in Manhattan.</p>
<p>But Mr. Pelletreau did not stay in legal practice for long. Joining the Foreign Service in 1962, he has served in Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, Tunisia and Syria.</p>
<p>In 1980-81, and again in 1985-87, he was assigned to the Pentagon, where he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near East and South Asian Affairs. From 1981 to 1983, he was Director for Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the State Department, followed by two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs. He was nominated as Ambassador to Tunisia by President Reagan in March 1987.</p>
<p>Mr. Pelletreau is married to Pamela Day Pelletreau, who has a doctorate in political science from George Washington University. They have three children.</p>

<p>Robert Halsey Pelletreau (born July 9, 1935 in Patchogue, New York) is a diplomat and former United States Ambassador to Bahrain (1979–80), Tunisia (1987–91), and Egypt (1991–93), as well as the former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. He currently sits on the U.S. Advisory Council of the Israel Policy Forum. He is also a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and Council on Foreign Relations.</p>
<p>Early years</p>
<p>Robert H. Pelletreau was born July 9, 1935 in Patchogue, New York. After graduating from Yale University (B.A., 1957), he served in the United States Navy Reserve from 1957 to 1958. Later he attended Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1961). </p>
<p>Career</p>
<p>Ambassador Robert H. Pelletreau entered the Foreign Service in 1962. From 1973 to 1975 Ambassador Pelletreau was a Political Officer in Algiers, Algeria; and served in several capacities in Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania and Morocco. He became Deputy Chief of Mission in Damascus, Syria in 1975. He remained in that position until 1978. A year later he became the Ambassador to the State of Bahrain until 1980. He became the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near East and South Asia at the Pentagon, 1980–1981. He was Country Director for Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the Department of State, 1981–1982, and from 1983–1985 the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs at the Department of State. He appeared before the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on 26 September 1983 addressing Major U.S. Interests in the Middle East. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense from 1985–1987. Afterwards, he was Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia from 1987 to 1991. Prior to his most recent position, Ambassador Pelletreau had served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Arab Republic of Egypt on July 31, 1991. Mr. Pelletreau, Jr. was sworn in as Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs on February 18, 1994.</p>

<p>Career Foreign Service Officer</p>
<p>State of Residence: Connecticut</p>
<p>1. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Bahrain)</p>
<p>Appointed: February 9, 1979</p>
<p>Presentation of Credentials: March 10, 1979</p>
<p>Termination of Mission: Left post on April 3, 1980</p>
<p>2. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Tunisia)</p>
<p>Appointed: June 15, 1987</p>
<p>Presentation of Credentials: July 1, 1987</p>
<p>Termination of Mission: Left post on May 11, 1991</p>
<p>3. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Egypt)</p>
<p>Appointed: July 2, 1991</p>
<p>Presentation of Credentials: September 12, 1991</p>
<p>Termination of Mission: Left post on December 11, 1993</p>
<p>4. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs</p>
<p>Appointed: February 11, 1994</p>
<p>Entry on Duty: February 18, 1994</p>
<p>Termination of Appointment: January 24, 1997</p>