Puneet Talwar

Puneet Talwar (born 1965 in Washington D.C.) is an American diplomat serving as the United States Ambassador to Morocco.[1][2] He previously served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs from 2014 to November 2015.[3] Talwar served as a top Middle East advisor to Barack Obama and played a central role in the backchannel diplomacy that produced the Iran nuclear deal. Prior to working in the White House, he was a top advisor to then-Senator Joe Biden on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for twelve years.[4]

Puneet Talwar
United States Ambassador to Morocco
Assumed office
November 21, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byDavid T. Fischer
Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs
In office
April 9, 2014 – November 2015
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byThomas P. Kelly III
Succeeded byR. Clarke Cooper
Personal details
Born1965 (age 57–58)
EducationCornell University (BS)
Columbia University (MIA)

Education

Talwar earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University.[5]

Career

From 1995 to 1999 and again from 2001 to 2008, Talwar served as the Chief Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia Advisor to Joe Biden on the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Talwar then worked on the Policy Planning Staff of the United States Department of State from 1999 to 2001. Talwar was a foreign policy advisor for the United States House of Representatives, and served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Iraq, Iran, and the Gulf States on the National Security Council from 2009 to 2014.[6] In 2012, Foreign Policy Magazine named Talwar as one of the 50 most powerful Democrats in foreign policy.[7]

Talwar briefs President Barack Obama, 2011

In 2014, Talwar was nominated by Barack Obama to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs. He left office in 2015 and was eventually replaced by R. Clarke Cooper in 2019.[8]

Since leaving government service, Talwar has served as chairman and President of Crest International, a US-based private investment company.[9] He is also a senior advisor at WestExec Advisors, a strategic advisory firm founded by former Obama administration officials Michèle Flournoy and Tony Blinken.[10]

In November 2020, Talwar was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the United States Department of State.[11]

Ambassador to Morocco

On March 18, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Talwar as the United States Ambassador to Morocco.[12] Hearings on his nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 27, 2022. The committee favorably reported the nomination on August 3, 2022. He was confirmed by the entire Senate via voice vote on September 8, 2022.[13]

References
  1. "Puneet Talwar - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  2. News, Safaa Kasraoui-Morocco World. "Meet The US' New Ambassador to Morocco, Puneet Talwar". www.moroccoworldnews.com/. Retrieved 22 January 2023. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. "Puneet Talwar". WestExec Advisors. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  4. "Asia Society Policy Institute Brings on Senior Fellows, Announces Australia Presence". Asia Society. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  5. 2015 Assistant Secretary Puneet Talwar – U.S. Foreign Policy Priorities – Full Version, retrieved 3 January 2020
  6. "Talwar, Puneet". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  7. "The FP 50". Foreign Policy. 3 September 2012.
  8. "PN116 – Nomination of R. Clarke Cooper for Department of State, 116th Congress (2019–2020)". www.congress.gov. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  9. West, SUNITA SOHRABJI, India. "Former State Department Official Puneet Talwar Moves to Private Sector". India West. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. Levine, Marianne; Meyer, Theodoric (16 February 2018). "Former Obama officials launch strategic advisory firm". POLITICO. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  11. "Agency Review Teams". President-Elect Joe Biden. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  12. "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". The White House. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  13. "PN1894 - Nomination of Puneet Talwar for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
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