Who are Donald Trump's ambassadors in the Middle East?

The National takes a look at new picks for ambassadorships across the region, who is staying on and which roles have yet to be filled

The US embassy in Tel Aviv. Michael Jacobs / Art in All of Us / Corbis / Getty Images

President Donald Trump is continuing to fill his diplomatic roster, and many ambassador roles in countries around the world are still up for grabs.

Here, The National takes a look at who Mr Trump has chosen for ambassadorships in the Middle East and North Africa, and which roles have yet to be filled.

Israel: Mike Huckabee

Mr Huckabee is a former governor of Arkansas. Since leaving office in 2007, he has hosted political television and radio shows and been a commentator on others. He has frequently expressed great love for Israel and led several tour groups to the country over the years. He has in the past referred to the area as “Judea and Samaria”, the biblical terms settlers use to describe the West Bank, and has said there is no way to negotiate with Hamas.

Turkey: Tom Barrack

Mr Barrack is a billionaire and a long-time friend of Mr Trump. The grandson of Lebanese-Christian immigrants, Mr Barrack founded the private equity firm Colony Capital. He was the chairman of Mr Trump's first inaugural committee in 2017, and two years ago was acquitted of federal charges of unlawful lobbying. Mr Barrack also serves as special envoy to Syria. The US had previously not had an ambassador in Syria since 2014.

Lebanon: Michel Issa

Mr Issa is a Lebanese-American businessman and philanthropist who is reported to be a golfing buddy of Mr Trump. In his announcement of his nomination on Truth Social, the President called him "an outstanding businessman, financial expert, and leader with a remarkable career in banking, entrepreneurship, and international trade".

Tunisia: Bill Bazzi

Mr Bazzi is the mayor of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, which has a large Arab-American community. He endorsed Mr Trump during his 2024 campaign. Mr Trump described Mr Bazzi as a decorated US marine who served the country for 21 years. Before he was elected mayor, he worked at Boeing as a quality manager and at Ford as a product development engineer.

Kuwait: Amer Ghalib

Mr Ghalib is the mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan. The Yemeni-American mayor endorsed Mr Trump during his presidential campaign. The President credited Mr Ghalib with helping him to secure victory in Michigan.

Jordan: James Holtsnider

Mr Holtsnider serves as principal deputy in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs at the State Department. He is a career diplomat with the rank of counsellor who has served in positions at embassies in Iraq, Tunisia, Afghanistan, Somalia and Italy. Before joining the Foreign Service, Mr Holtsnider served for six years in the US Marine Corps.

Morocco: Richard Duke Buchan

Mr Buchan is the founder and chief executive of Hunter Global Investors and most recently served as the National Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee. He previously served as ambassador to Spain and Andorra.

Holdovers from Biden administration

Yemen: Steven Fagin

Mr Fagin began his tenure in 2022. A career member of the foreign service, he has held a wide range of positions in embassies and consulates throughout the world, including Iraq and Egypt. As ambassador, Mr Fagin has grappled with the rise in attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on international shipping that have precipitated US strikes on sites in Yemen.

Egypt: Herro Mustafa

Ms Mustafa acceded to the ambassadorship in 2023. She previously served as ambassador to Bulgaria, and before that held various posts in the foreign service around the world. Ms Mustafa is originally from the Kurdish region of Iraq, and her family fled the country in the 1970s for the US. She has served as ambassador during a complicated time for Egypt, as it navigates the fallout of the Israel-Gaza war.

Oman: Ana Escrogima

Ms Escrogima took up the position in 2023. She previously served as the State Department’s UAE-based Arabic-language spokeswoman, and was office director for Regional and Multilateral Affairs in the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau.

Bahrain: Steven Bondy

Mr Bondy has been ambassador to Bahrain since 2021. Before that, he was chargé d’affaires and deputy chief of mission at the embassy in the UAE. His accession to the ambassadorship follows a stint as political/economic counsellor at the embassy in Bahrain.

Algeria: Elizabeth Moore Aubin

Ms Moore Aubin has been her current role since 2021. She previously served in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and was also deputy chief of mission in Algiers.

Positions to be filled

There are still several Middle Eastern countries that Mr Trump has yet to name ambassadors for. The ambassadors to the UAE (Martina Strong) and Saudi Arabia (Mike Ratney) have left or announced they would leave their posts after Mr Trump entered office.

The ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, left her role in December. John Godfrey, the ambassador to Sudan, left his post in February last year.