Latest News

Ambassador Gary Grappo announced as new Head of Mission in Jerusalem

Quartet Representative Tony Blair today announced that Ambassador Gary A. Grappo, until recently Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the American Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, is to serve as Head of Mission for the Office of the Quartet Representative in Jerusalem.

Over the past 18 years, Ambassador Grappo has accrued extensive experience working on the Middle East at the U.S. Department of State and at U.S. Embassies around the region, including Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Oman from 2006 to 2009 before his posting in Iraq.  He is seconded to the Office of the Quartet Representative from the U.S. State Department.

A spokesperson for Quartet Representative Tony Blair said: "Mr. Blair is pleased to announce the appointment of Ambassador Grappo as the new Head of Mission of the Office of the Quartet Representative. His extensive experience in the region will undoubtedly provide a welcome addition to the already impressive team working for Tony Blair in Jerusalem. Ambassador Grappo joins the team at an important juncture, and his arrival will provide fresh impetus to the bottom-up process and efforts to forge ahead with the Palestinian state-building agenda. Tony Blair is delighted he has agreed to serve as the Head of Mission to spearhead efforts to forge change on the ground, which is an essential element of the international community’s effort to secure a peace agreement.”

The Office of the Quartet Representative is staffed by personnel from a variety of countries and international institutions.

Ambassador Grappo took up his post on 23^rd September, 2010.