Robert Malley

Robert Malley, born in 1963, is an American lawyer and political scientist with extensive experience in international relations and conflict resolution. His early life was shaped by his parents’ involvement in international affairs; his mother, Barbara Malley, worked for the United Nations delegation of the Algerian National Liberation Front, and his father, Simon Malley, was an Egyptian journalist of Syrian-Jewish descent. The family moved to France in 1969, where Robert attended École Jeannine Manuel in Paris, graduating in 1980 alongside future U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. After his family relocated to New York in 1980, Malley pursued higher education at Yale University, Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar and earned a D.Phil. in political philosophy, and Harvard Law School, where he met his wife, Caroline Brown, and fellow student Barack Obama. He clerked for Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White in 1991-1992.

Malley’s career in public service began in the Clinton administration, where he served as Director for Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the National Security Council from 1994 to 1996. He later became an informal chief of staff to National Security Advisor Samuel R. Berger from 1997 to 1998, and then Special Assistant to President Clinton for Arab-Israeli Affairs and Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs at the National Security Council until January 2001. A significant turning point in his career came with his role as the lead U.S. negotiator for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) concerning Iran’s nuclear program in 2015 during the Obama administration. In this capacity, he worked to limit Iran’s nuclear activities and ensure international inspections in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. After his time with the Obama administration, Malley served as President and CEO of the International Crisis Group, an organization dedicated to preventing wars.

In January 2021, President Joe Biden appointed Malley as the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran, a position he held until June 2023 when his security clearance was suspended pending an investigation. This marked a challenging period in his career, as the investigation was later referred to the FBI regarding his handling of classified information. Throughout his career, Malley has been a prolific writer, authoring “The Call from Algeria: Third Worldism, Revolution and the Turn to Islam” and numerous articles in publications such as the New York Review of Books, Foreign Affairs, and the New York Times. His work consistently reflects a focus on diplomatic engagement and conflict resolution, particularly concerning the Middle East.