Gordon Gray III

Gordon Gray III was born in New York City in 1956. He attended Yale University, receiving his B.A. in political science in 1978. Gray later served in the Peace Corps in Oued Zem, Morocco until 1980. He then attended Columbia University, from which he graduated in 1982 with a Master of International Affairs. In 2015, he received an honorary M.S. from the National Defense University.{{cite web|title=Ambassador (Ret.) Gordon Gray Bio |url=http://www.nusacc.org/assets/15BIO-GordonGrayEN.pdf |publisher=NUSACC |access-date=August 11, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094540/http://www.nusacc.org/assets/15BIO-GordonGrayEN.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016 }}

Gray began his Foreign Service career in 1982. His first tours of duty included postings in Karachi, Amman, and Ottawa. He was appointed as director of the Counterterrorism Regional Affairs Office at the Department of State in 1996 and held the post until 1999. As director for regional affairs in the Office of the Coordinator for Counter-terrorism before 9/11, Gray predicted the rising threat of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda.{{cite web|title=U.S. Officials See Terrorism As a Shifting Threat to Nation|url=https://fas.org/irp/news/1998/09/98091706_plt.html|publisher=State Department|access-date=July 29, 2012}} He was then appointed as the director of the Office of Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Operations from 1999 to 2001. Between 2002 and 2005, Gray served as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. While holding this post, Gray became the first U.S. diplomat to visit Tripoli in 2004.

In 2005, Gray served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs in the State Department, a position which he held until mid-2008. He then spent eleven months in Baghdad as a senior advisor to then-U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. During that time, Gray traveled extensively in southern Iraq assessing the reestablishment of governance and infrastructure in the southern provinces.{{cite web|last=Turner |first=Sgt. David |title=Senior Diplomat Visits Leaders in Iraqi Province |url=https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/id/50800/ |publisher=DoD |access-date=January 20, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414103934/http://www.defense.gov//News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=50800 |archive-date=April 14, 2012 }}

Gray was sworn in as the United States Ambassador to Tunisia in August 2009, assuming his post the following month.{{cite web|title=Ambassador Gordon Gray |url=http://tunisia.usembassy.gov/ambassador2.html |publisher=Embassy of the United States |access-date=January 20, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721071858/http://tunisia.usembassy.gov/ambassador2.html |archive-date=July 21, 2011 }}

Gray's tenure has seen him involved in two diplomatic incidents relating to Tunisia. During the release of classified State Department cables, it was revealed that Gray criticized the Tunisian government's human rights record and its policies relating to press freedom. Additionally, he was one of the first to identify Sakher El Materi, a Tunisian businessman and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's son-in-law, as a potential beneficiary of the ancien regime's nepotism.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w2lNAgAAQBAJ&q=tunisian+president+++gordon+gray&pg=PA43 |title = The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East|isbn = 9781451690415|last1 = Cole|first1 = Juan|date = July 2014| publisher=Simon and Schuster }} Gray had been, however, an early and consistent proponent of democracy in Tunisia.{{cite news|title=Ambassador Gordon Gray Hosts a Reception On the Occasion of U.S. Independence Day|url=http://tunisia.usembassy.gov/independence-day-july-2-2010.html|access-date=July 4, 2012|newspaper=Embassy of the United States|date=July 2, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216222541/http://tunisia.usembassy.gov/independence-day-july-2-2010.html|archive-date=February 16, 2013|url-status=dead}} Indeed, he is credited with informing former President Ben Ali not only that he needed to relinquish power, but that he could not count United States for exile.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HTA_AwAAQBAJ&q=tunisian+president+++gordon+gray&pg=PA212 | title=Democratization and Authoritarianism in the Arab World| isbn=9781421414164| last1=Diamond| first1=Larry| last2=Plattner| first2=Marc F.| date=April 2014| publisher=JHU Press}} In WikiLeaks cables, Gray has also commented on the political aptitude of Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi,{{cite news|title=Tunisian Embassy Cable |url=http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/soc/wl/al-akhbar/10TUNIS34.html |access-date=January 20, 2011 |newspaper=Al-Akhbar |date=December 8, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240525041636/https://www.webcitation.org/5vkEFzytw?url=http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/soc/wl/al-akhbar/10TUNIS34.html |archive-date=May 25, 2024 }} who temporarily assumed control of the country following former President Ben Ali's departure, stating that "it appears Ben Ali has come to view him as indispensable." During protests which contributed to President Ben Ali's departure, Gray was summoned to explain American encouragement of political demonstration and the American response stating that Tunisia had used excessive violence against protesters.{{cite news|title=Tunisian Government Closes Schools As Unrest Spreads|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/tunisia_government_closes_schools_unrest/2273309.html|access-date=January 20, 2011|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=January 11, 2011}} U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley stated that the purpose of Gray's meeting was to express the Obama administration's wariness toward said violence, with 27 protesters having died before the meeting took place.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} The U.S. response to Tunisian riots was poorly received, and as such it was Gray who was called to explain the reasons for the Obama administration's condemnation of the Ben Ali regime's handling of the unrest.{{cite news|title=Tunisia summons US ambassador over riot comments|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110110/ap_on_re_af/af_north_africa_riots_7|access-date=January 20, 2011|newspaper=Associated Press|date=January 10, 2011}} In regard to the Tunisian political upheaval in January 2011, Ambassador Gray has come out calling for both protesters and government forces alike to act with responsibility, noting that democratic demonstrations are a "new phenomenon" in Tunisia{{cite news|title=Swiss to freeze Ben Ali funds|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/2011119656347895.html|access-date=January 20, 2011|newspaper=Al Jazeera English|date=January 19, 2011}}

In May 2012, Gray criticized a Tunisian court's charges of "disturbing public order" and "threatening public morals" against TV magnate Nabil Karoui, who aired a French film which violates a prohibition in Islam by showing a depiction of God. After Gray stated that "[Karoui's] conviction raises serious concerns about tolerance and freedom of expression in the new Tunisia", the Tunisian Foreign Ministry expressed its displeasure with Gray's comments and decried perceived US interference in the Tunisian judicial system.{{cite news|title=Tunisian who showed 'Persepolis' on TV fined in free speech case|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/tunisian-who-showed-persepolis-on-tv-fined-in-free-speech-case/2012/05/03/gIQA0GpzyT_story.html|access-date=May 8, 2012|newspaper=Washington Post|date=May 3, 2012}}{{cite news|title=Embassy Row: Tunisia angered|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/8/embassy-row-tunisia-angered/|access-date=May 9, 2012|newspaper=Washington Times|date=May 8, 2012}}

As Gray prepared to leave his post in July 2012, he expressed optimism over Tunisia's future thanks to the nation's capable government and military, adding that a stable democracy is well within the country's grasp.{{cite news|title=Tunisia: 'Nation Fortunate to Have Very Professional Army,' Says U.S. Ambassador|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201206290072.html|access-date=July 4, 2012|newspaper=allAfrica.com|date=June 28, 2012}}{{cite news|title=US Ambassador to Tunisia Gordon Gray Leaves Office |url=http://www.tunisia-live.net/2012/06/29/us-ambassador-to-tunisia-gordon-gray-leaves-office/ |access-date=July 4, 2012 |newspaper=TunisiaLive.com |date=June 29, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704013751/http://www.tunisia-live.net/2012/06/29/us-ambassador-to-tunisia-gordon-gray-leaves-office/ |archive-date=July 4, 2012 }}{{cite news|title=Remarks at the U.S. Embassy Independence Day Reception|url=http://tunisia.usembassy.gov/remarks-at-the-u.s.-embassy-independence-day-reception.html|access-date=July 4, 2012|newspaper=Embassy of the United States|date=July 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707192117/http://tunisia.usembassy.gov/remarks-at-the-u.s.-embassy-independence-day-reception.html|archive-date=July 7, 2012|url-status=dead}} He reiterated his confidence in Tunisian civil society in an op-ed piece Time published on October 9, 2015, the day the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.{{cite web| url = https://time.com/4068655/nobel-peace-prize-tunisia/| title = Nobel Peace Prize Honors Resilience of the Tunisian People| date = October 9, 2015}}

Gray has twice received the Presidential Meritorious Service award, as well as other awards for exceptional service.{{cite web| url = http://www.ndu.edu/nwc/FacultyStaff/2012_Faculty/Gray.html#top| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120917003410/http://www.ndu.edu/nwc/FacultyStaff/2012_Faculty/Gray.html| archive-date = September 17, 2012| title = NWC Faculty Biography - Gray}} In recognition of Gray's support for Tunisia's transition to democracy, on July 4, 2012, President Marzouki awarded him the highest civilian decoration Tunisia grants to foreigners, the "Grand Officier de l'Ordre de la République".https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=153763214694875&story_fbid=357941537610374 {{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/201207050519.html {{Dead link|date=January 2022}}

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Category:1956 births

Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Tunisia

Category:Living people

Category:School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni

Category:United States Foreign Service personnel

Category:Yale University alumni

Category:21st-century American diplomats