PERSON: Brett McGurk

United States National Security Council (NSC)

Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa

Brett Holden McGurk (born April 20, 1973) is an American diplomat, attorney, and academic who served in senior national security positions under presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. He served as deputy assistant to President Joe Biden and National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa. He most recently led negotiations between the United States, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar to establish a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

He was the special presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter ISIL. He was appointed to this post by Obama in October 2015 and was retained in that role by the Trump Administration until 2018. McGurk had been slated to leave the post in mid-February 2019, but announced his resignation in December following Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria.

McGurk also served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq and Iran and from October 2014 through January 2016, and led secret negotiations with Iran that led to a prisoner swap and release of four Americans from Iran. He earlier served under President George W. Bush as special assistant to the president and senior director for Iraq and Afghanistan, and under President Barack Obama as a senior advisor to the National Security Council and U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

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