Edward Djerejian carries the weight of a lifetime dedicated to public service. His voice is calm and steady, his words carefully chosen, and he speaks with a quiet confidence that comes only from years of experience. There’s an authentic charisma about him, a sense that when he’s at the negotiating table, you want him on your side.
Yet, when he reflects on his decades-long career as a diplomat—notably serving in no fewer than eight U.S. presidential administrations—Djerejian is quick to point out that while the core principles of negotiation, open communication, trust-based relationships and the safeguarding of national security and economic interests are foundational, success in the arena of diplomatic relations begins not with talking but with listening.
“The true art of diplomacy lies in the ability to find common ground and maintain positive relations, so that opposing parties find it difficult to say no to one another. However, when no effort is made to listen and understand where the other side is coming from, relations break down and conflict becomes inevitable. War represents the complete failure of diplomacy,” he explains.
Unsurprisingly, Djerejian is well versed in the high stakes of preserving peace, having spent the majority of his working life navigating the Middle East’s polarizing and precarious political landscape while delicately shaping U.S. policy in the region.
After graduating from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service, Djerejian served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army in the Republic of Korea (1961-1962) before launching his diplomatic career as a special assistant to Under Secretary of State George W. Ball, a role he held until 1964.
In the mid-to-late 1960s, Djerejian was based at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut followed by the U.S. Consulate in Casablanca, Morocco (1969-1972). He was appointed Consul General in Bordeaux, France (1975-1977) before becoming Chief of the Political Section at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow during the difficult period of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. He subsequently served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan (1981-1984), where he developed a close working relationship with King Hussein.
From 1988 to 1991, a pivotal period marked by the end of the Cold War, the Lebanese Civil War and the Gulf War, Djerejian stepped into another high-profile role as U.S. Ambassador to Syria, a post he considers among his most challenging. Relations between the two countries were adversarial, and his mandate from both President Reagan and President George H.W. Bush was highly demanding: getting Syria to enter direct negotiations with Israel, liberation of the American hostages in Lebanon through Syria’s influence over Iran and Hezbollah, freedom of travel for Syrian Jews and convincing Syria to join the U.S.-led coalition to reverse Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait.
In order to have any chance of accomplishing this mandate, Djerejian realized that he had to secure direct contact with Syria’s ruler, President Hafez al Assad, and his key lieutenants. Assad, a hardline, skillful negotiator, did not receive ambassadors frequently, thus Djerejian considered it essential for him to get on Assad’s radar screen.
He had studied Assad’s background, personality and modus operandi and discovered that he had a very favorable opinion of the Armenian community in Syria. So, in his first official meeting with Assad, he decided to play what he calls “the Armenian card.”
“One of my first official duties as the newly appointed ambassador was to present my credentials to Assad in Damascus. So, after the formalities, I shared the story of how my father, Bedros, had lost both of his parents at the hands of the Ottoman Turks in 1915 and was forced on a death march from his home in Hadjin (now Saimbeyli in southern Turkey) to Deirez-Zor in the Syrian desert. I said that had it not been for a Syrian Arab family providing him with shelter and work as a stable boy in Aleppo, he may have never reached the United States,” he says.
Djerejian explained to Assad that his father once learned of two orphaned Armenian girls who had been taken to a Turkish officer’s harem. Outraged, he risked his life and set out alone on horseback to rescue them and bring them to one of the Armenian churches in Aleppo. Eventually, the sisters were reunited with their brother, who was living in Massachusetts. After hearing about Bedros’ courageous and selfless act, the brother sponsored Bedros' immigration to the United States.
Djerejian’s father opened a grocery store and met the lady who would later become his mother-in-law and Djerejian’s maternal grandmother. The lady showed Bedros a photo of her daughter, Mary Yazudjian—a Genocide survivor who had reached Cuba through a Danish orphanage in Lebanon. Moved by her story and the photo, he didn’t hesitate to travel to Havana and bring her to Massachusetts. The couple married and built a life focused on giving their two sons, Robert and Edward, a better future.
Djerejian then made his pitch. “It is a shame that the relations between our two countries did not allow you, Mr. President, to visit the United States. We are a nation of immigrants. If someone had told my father that one day he would have a son who would become the American Ambassador to Syria, he would shake his head in disbelief.”
Assad showed personal interest in Djerejian’s narrative. Djerejian commented to Assad that he could only realize his diplomatic mission in Damascus if he could have access to him and his ministers. Assad paused briefly before telling his Minister of State for Foreign Affairs that he agreed with Djerejian. That moment signaled the start of a respectful and productive working relationship between the two men.
During his ambassadorship in Damascus, Djerejian achieved what many considered impossible. He worked closely with Secretary of State James A. Baker III to facilitate Syria’s entry into direct negotiations with Israel—a historic first—which culminated in the country’s participation in the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference. In addition, his diplomatic efforts contributed to travel rights being granted to Syrian Jews, Syria joining the Desert Storm Coalition and American hostages being released from captivity in Lebanon.
Djerejian’s effectiveness in Damascus paved the way for his 1991 appointment as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, one of the highest positions in U.S. Middle East policy formulation. It was during this time that he delivered his legendary speech titled The United States and the Middle East in a Changing World at Meridian House, widely regarded as a landmark articulation of U.S. Middle East policy toward the Muslim world in the early post–Cold War era.
“I remember asking Secretary of State Baker if he had read the draft of the speech I had submitted to him for approval. He told me he hadn’t and asked me to give him a summary of what was in it. So, I shared the main points, to which he replied: ‘I trust your judgment, just be careful,’” he recalls.
True to form, Djerejian anticipated emerging threats in the region with remarkable foresight. He warned of the rise of extremism, either religious or secular, and groups seeking power through democratic means, only to dismantle democracy once in charge—summing it up in the now famous phrase: “one person, one vote, one time.”
Djerejian’s direct yet measured evaluation called for U.S. support of moderation, reform and sustained engagement in the region to promote long-term stability. The speech—frequently referenced in international relations and public diplomacy courses—cemented Djerejian’s
reputation as one of America’s most knowledgeable and experienced diplomats in Middle Eastern affairs.
As Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs (1991-1993) and Ambassador to Israel, he played an important role in Arab-Israeli peace negotiations at a critical and transformative period punctuated by major developments in the road to peace, namely the historic signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), under the sponsorship of the United States.
True to form, Djerejian anticipated emerging threats in the region with remarkable foresight. He warned of the rise of extremism, either religious or secular, and groups seeking power through democratic means, only to dismantle democracy once in charge—summing it up in the now famous phrase: “one person, one vote, one time.
After a distinguished 32-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service—the highlights of which are recorded in Djerejian’s 2008 memoir-cum-policy treatise Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador’s Journey Through the Middle East—Djerejian pivoted to academia to continue shaping policy through research, dialogue and public engagement.
In 1994, he became the founding director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston, Texas, a position he held until 2022. Together with his wife, Francoise—a lifelong supporter of Djerejian’s career and active figure in diplomatic and academic circles—they were pivotal in building the institute from the ground up, welcoming inspirational world leaders like Nelson Mandela through its doors and fostering its growth into one of the leading public-policy think tanks in the United States, attracting national and global leaders to its forum.
In recognition of Djerejian’s contributions, Rice University formally renamed the Baker Institute’s Center for the Middle East as the Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East in May 2022 and honored him with Lifetime Membership on the Baker Institute Board of Advisors.
Today, at 86, Djerejian continues to share his formidable experience in diplomacy, participating in seminars and mentoring future policymakers at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, where he is a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Initiative. He also serves on the board of trustees of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and remains active as a public commentator and strategic advisor on diplomacy and international relations.
However, it is clear that far from the rewards and recognitions, Djerejian’s guiding compass has always been simple: passion and purpose.
“I was fortunate. I knew early on that I wanted to join the Foreign Service and give back to the country that had provided a safe haven to my family and so many other Genocide survivors,” he reflects.
And give back he most certainly has—not only to America, but to the Armenian community at large—through his innate ability to bridge cultures, champion dialogue and translate his identity into impactful, courageous diplomacy, advocacy, and leadership.
