Ambassador Michael Ratney served for over three decades as a distinguished U.S. diplomat and has been at the center of high-profile diplomatic initiatives throughout the Middle East. Prior to serving as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ratney served as the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy to Israel in 2021, where he was responsible for conduct of U.S. diplomacy with Israel, as well as diplomatic engagement with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. From 2015 to 2017, he served as the U.S. special envoy for Syria where he was responsible for U.S. relations with the Syrian opposition and led diplomatic engagements on Syria with partners in Europe and the Middle East, as well as ceasefire negotiations with Russia. Ratney speaks Arabic and French, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and earned a BS from Boston University and an MA from George Washington University.