In office January 28, 2021 – June 29, 2023 On leave
President
Joe Biden
Preceded by
Elliott Abrams
Succeeded by
Abram Paley (acting)
Personal details
Born
1963 (age 60–61)
Political party
Democratic
Spouse
Caroline Brown
Children
3
Education
Yale University (BA) Magdalen College, Oxford (MA, DPhil) Harvard University (JD)
Robert Malley (born 1963) is an American lawyer, political scientist and specialist in conflict resolution, who was the lead negotiator on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).[1]
Malley was Director for Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the National Security Council from 1994 to 1996[2] and Program Director for Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group and Assistant to National Security Advisor Sandy Berger from 1996 to 1998. As Special Assistant to President Clinton from 1998 to 2001, he was a member of the U.S. peace team and helped organize the 2000 Camp David Summit.[3] He served in the National Security Council under President Barack Obama from 2014 to 2017. In 2015, the Obama administration appointed Malley as its "point man" on the Middle East, leading the Middle East desk of the National Security Council.[4] In November 2015, Malley was named as President Obama's new special ISIS advisor.[5] After leaving the Obama administration, Malley was President and CEO of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels[6] non-profit committed to preventing wars.[7]
In January 2021, President Joe Biden named Malley as special U.S. envoy for Iran.[8] He was tasked with bringing the United States and Iran into compliance with the JCPOA after it had been abandoned by former president Donald Trump. In late 2023 it was widely reported that Malley's loyalties were to Tehran, not Washington, based on joint reporting by Iran International and Semafor on a 2003-2021 trove of Iranian diplomats' emails.[9][10]
In 2023, Malley's security clearance was revoked and he was placed on a paid, then an unpaid leave of absence pending an investigation into his handling of classified information. The investigation was later referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).[11][12][13]
^"Rob Malley, Obama's New ISIS Czar, Is a 'Trusted' But Controversial Pick". NBC News. December 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
^"Robert Malley biography page". International Crisis Group. Archived from the original on April 10, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
^Malley, Robert; Agha, Hussein (August 9, 2001). "Camp David: The Tragedy of Errors". New York Review of Books. Retrieved October 9, 2023. On March 6th, 2015, the White House announced that he would become the Special Assistant to the President and White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Region, replacing Phil Gordon.
^White House names Israel critic to top Mideast post BY JTA, March 8, 2015, 3:13 pm 36
^"White House appoints new ISIS czar". CBS News. November 30, 2015.
^"Robert Malley". Crisis Group. April 14, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
^"A test of Biden's commitment to diplomacy: Appointing Rob Malley as Iran envoy". Salon. January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
^Spetalnick, Matt; Mohammed, Arshad (January 28, 2021). "Former Obama aide Malley named Biden's top envoy on Iran: official". Reuters. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
^Stephens, Bret (October 3, 2023). "Opinion | Iran's Captive Minds". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
^Lawler, Dave; Ravid, Barak (January 29, 2021). "Biden picks Rob Malley as envoy for Iran". Axios. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
^"FBI looking into Biden Iran envoy Rob Malley over handling of classified material, multiple sources say". CBS News. July 10, 2023.
^"Biden's Iran envoy placed on leave after security clearance suspended amid investigation into possible mishandling of classified material, sources say". CNN. June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
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