Kurtzer Appointed Ambassador to Egypt

Alumnus and Former YC Dean Heads for Cairo

Daniel C. Kurtzer, an alumnus and former Dean of YC, was nominated and confirmed to serve in the top United States position in Cairo. The career diplomat will depart his post as acting Assistant Secretary of State and assume control of the Ambassadorial reins in Egypt later this year.

As part of a U.S. Department of State effort to fill open Ambassadorial positions in Israel, Jordan, and Syria, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright decided to give outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Edward Walker the coveted Tel Aviv assignment to head off political machinations that she anticipated would result in the nomination of a candidate unacceptable to her. This left Egypt open for Kurtzer, a seasoned statesman with previous experience in Cairo.

Kurtzer graduated from Yeshiva College in 1971 and subsequently enrolled in a Columbia University doctoral program in Middle East history. Upon receiving his Ph.D., Kurtzer embarked upon what would become a distinguished career in the United States Foreign Service and State Department.

In 1977, a mere six years following the receipt of his undergraduate degree, Kurtzer left the Foreign Service to return to YC for a brief stint as Dean of that school. At 28, he was the youngest college dean to ever serve the University. In a quirk of YU history, he signed his brother Benjamin’s diploma at the 1979 Commencement Exercises.

Kurtzer then resumed his career in the Foreign Service. Despite earlier indications that his identity as a Jew might preclude service in the Arab world, Kurtzer’s perseverance was rewarded with a posting at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo in 1979. He brought his wife, Sheila, and his three young sons to Egypt with him where the family continued to live as observant Jews despite difficulties obtaining kosher meat and locating Jewish prayer services.

In 1982, Kurtzer was transferred to Tel Aviv where he served as First Secretary of Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy there. After four years in that position, Kurtzer returned to Washington to join then Secretary of State George Schultz’s elite corps of policy advisers on Middle East policy under the Reagan administration. The Bush administration ushered in James Baker as Secretary of State with whom Kurtzer worked closely and became friendly.

Kurtzer later served as Principal Deputy Assistant Undersecretary of State for Intelligence and Research and most recently as acting Assistant Secretary of State until receiving his Ambassadorial appointment.

Kurtzer, his wife, and their three sons reside in Silver Spring, Maryland, a quaint suburb of Washington, D.C.