UNITED STATES SENATE
SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of
Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service
Act, Section 304(a)(4)
POST: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
CANDIDATE: Yael Lempert
Yael Lempert, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, where she previously served as Acting Assistant Secretary. Prior to that, she was Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. at the U.S. Embassy in London, where she also served as Deputy Chief of Mission. Earlier, Lempert was Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Egypt and North Africa, and the Senior Director for the Levant, Israel and Egypt at the National Security Council, also serving as Special Assistant to the President. She also served as Deputy Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem, and worked at the U.S. Embassy in Libya, where she also served as Acting Deputy Chief of Mission. Prior to that, she served at the U.S. Embassy in Egypt. Other assignments include Director for Iraq at the National Security Council; Governance Officer at the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad; Special Assistant for South Asian and Near Eastern Affairs to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; Iraq desk officer; and a tour in the Department of State’s Bureau of Nonproliferation. Lempert’s substantive background in Near Eastern affairs, demonstrated ability to lead large interagency teams, language expertise, and broad diplomatic experience make her a well-qualified candidate to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Jordan.
Lempert is the recipient of six State Department Senior Foreign Service performance awards, a Presidential Meritorious Service Award, and the National Security Council’s Outstanding Service Award. A native of New York, she earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She speaks Arabic.