Gray, Gordon, 1956-

<p>Gordon Gray III (born 1956) is the Chief Operating Officer of the Center for American Progress, a research and advocacy institute in Washington, DC. He is a retired United States Foreign Service Officer and former career member of the Senior Foreign Service who attained the rank of Minister-Counselor. He joined the faculty of the National War College in July 2012 and held the positions of Deputy Commandant and International Affairs Advisor from June 2014 to June 2015. He was the U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia, having been sworn in on August 20, 2009 after his appointment to the position by President Barack Obama, and served until July 5, 2012.</p>

<p>He retired from the Foreign Service in June 2015. In July 2015, he joined the National U.S.–Arab Chamber of Commerce as the organization's Executive Vice President, serving in that capacity until August 2017.</p>

<p>Gordon Gray III was born in New York City in 1956. He attended Yale University, receiving his B.A. in Political Science in 1978. Gray later served in the Peace Corps in Oued Zem, Morocco until 1980. He then attended Columbia University, from which he graduated in 1982 with an M.A. in International Affairs. In 2015, he received an honorary M.S. degree from the National Defense University.</p>

<p>Gray began his Foreign Service career in 1982. His first tours of duty included postings in Karachi, Amman, and Ottawa. He was appointed as Director of Counterterrorism Regional Affairs Office at the United States Department of State in 1996 and held the post until 1999. As Director for Regional Affairs in the Office of the Coordinator for Counter-terrorism before 9/11, Gray predicted the rising threat of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. He was then appointed as the Director of the Office of Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Operations from 1999 to 2001. Between 2002 and 2005, Gray served as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. While holding this post, Gray became the first diplomat to visit Tripoli in 2004.</p>

<p>In 2005, Gray served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs in the State Department, a position which he held until mid-2008. He then spent eleven months in Baghdad as a Senior Advisor to then-U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. There, Gray spent much of his time traveling in the south of Iraq assessing the reestablishment of governance and infrastructure in the southern provinces.</p>

<p>Gray was sworn in as the United States Ambassador to Tunisia in August 2009, assuming his post the following month.</p>

<p>Gray's tenure has seen him involved in two diplomatic incidents relating to Tunisia. During the release of classified State Department cables by WikiLeaks, it was revealed that Gray criticized the Tunisian government's human rights record and its policies relating to press freedom. Additionally, he was one of the first to identify Sakher El Materi, a Tunisian businessman and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's son-in-law, as a potential beneficiary of the ancien regime's nepotism. Gray had been, however, an early and consistent proponent of democracy in Tunisia. Indeed, he is credited with informing former President Ben Ali not only that he needed to relinquish power, but that he could not count United States for exile. In WikiLeaks cables, Gray has also commented on the political aptitude of Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, who temporarily assumed control of the country following former President Ben Ali's departure, stating that "it appears Ben Ali has come to view him as indispensable." During protests which contributed to President Ben Ali's departure, Gray was summoned to explain American encouragement of political demonstration and the American response stating that Tunisia had used excessive violence against protesters. U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley stated that the purpose of Gray's meeting was to express the Obama administration's wariness toward said violence, with 27 protesters having died before the meeting took place. The U.S. response to Tunisian riots was poorly received, and as such it was Gray who was called to explain the reasons for the Obama administration's condemnation of the Ben Ali regime's handling of the unrest. In regard to the Tunisian political upheaval in January 2011, Ambassador Gray has come out calling for both protesters and government forces alike to act with responsibility, noting that democratic demonstrations are a "new phenomenon" in Tunisia.</p>

<p>In May 2012, Gray criticized a Tunisian court's charges of “disturbing public order” and “threatening public morals” against TV magnate Nabil Karoui, who aired a French film which violates a prohibition in Islam by showing a depiction of God. After Gray stated that "[Karoui's] conviction raises serious concerns about tolerance and freedom of expression in the new Tunisia," the Tunisian Foreign Ministry expressed its displeasure with Gray's comments and decried perceived US interference in the Tunisian judicial system.</p>

<p>As Gray prepared to leave his post in July 2012, he expressed optimism over Tunisia's future thanks to the nation's capable government and military, adding that a stable democracy is well within the country's grasp. He reiterated his confidence in Tunisian civil society in an op-ed piece TIME published on October 9, 2015, the day the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.</p>

<p>Gray has twice received the Presidential Meritorious Service award, as well as other awards for exceptional service. In recognition of Gray's support for Tunisia's transition to democracy, on July 4, 2012, President Marzouki awarded him the highest civilian decoration Tunisia grants to foreigners, the "Grand Officier de l'Ordre de la République."</p>

<p>President Barack Obama nominated an experienced diplomat to be the US ambassador to Tunisia. Gordon Gray III, who was confirmed by the Senate on July 10, 2009, has almost 30 years experience in the Foreign Service, most of it in positions dealing with the Middle East. Gray succeeds career diplomat Robert F. Godec. Since the opening of the U.S. embassy in Tunis, only career diplomats have held this post. Gray’s father and grandfather were involved in the radio and TV industries in New York. At the time of his death in 1991, his father, Gordon Gray, Jr., was national sales manager in New York for the Christian Broadcasting Network. Born circa 1956 and raised in New York, Gordon Gray III earned a B.A. from Yale University in 1978. He then served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Oued Zem, Morocco, from 1978 to 1980. Returning to academia, he earned a Master’s in International Affairs from Columbia University in 1982.</p>

<p>Shortly after earning his Master’s degree, Gray joined the Foreign Service in 1982. He married Connie Bentivegna of Montreal in November of that year while he was studying Urdu at the Foreign Service Institute. His early overseas service included stints in Pakistan, Jordan, and Canada, while he held Washington assignments in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and the Bureau of South Asian Affairs and on the Soviet desk. As he gained seniority and expertise, Gray earned appointments to key offices in the State Department, including as the Director of the counterterrorism regional affairs office (1996 to 1999), the office of peacekeeping and humanitarian operations (1999 to 2001), and the office of Arabian Peninsula affairs (2001 to 2002). Gray returned to the Middle East in 2002 to serve as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Egypt until 2005. During that assignment, Gray was the first U.S. diplomat to travel to Libya in 2004. Back in Washington, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from 2005 to 2008, where his responsibilities included the promotion of U.S. interests in the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, and oversight of the Bureau’s Regional Affairs office. Most recently, he served as Senior Advisor to the Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq from June 2008 until May 2009.</p>

<p>Gray and his wife Connie have two sons and one daughter. He enjoys distance running and has run marathons in Egypt, Europe, and the United States.</p>