Frederic C. Hof

Academic Program Affiliation(s): Global and International Studies, Politics

Biography:

Frederic Hof, outgoing director of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, has had a distinguished career with the U.S. Army, Department of State, and the international consulting firm AALC, specializing in the Mideast region. He served as ambassador and special adviser for transition in Syria under President Obama and as special coordinator for regional affairs in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, where he advised Special Envoy George Mitchell on a range of Arab-Israeli issues. A Vietnam veteran and graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and Naval Postgraduate School, Hof also served as president and CEO of AALC (formerly Armitage Associates LC); U.S. Army Middle East Foreign Area Officer; and U.S. Army attaché in Beirut and later in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In 2001, he directed the Jerusalem field operations of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee, headed by George Mitchell, then Senate Majority Leader, and was lead drafter of the committee’s report. As an Army officer, he helped draft the Long Commission report investigating the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine headquarters at the Beirut airport. Both reports drew international praise for their fairness and integrity. Hof has written extensively on Lebanon, Syria, and Arab-Israeli issues. Publications include Galilee Divided: The Israel-Lebanon Frontier, 1916–1984 (1985); Line of Battle, Border of Peace? The Line of June 4, 1967 (1999); and Beyond the Boundary: Lebanon, Israel, and the Challenge of Change (2000); opinion pieces in Foreign Policy and The Atlantic; and numerous articles on Jordan Valley water issues. Awards and honors include the Purple Heart, Department of State Superior Honor Award, Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Medal, and the Defense Superior Service Medal. At Bard since 2018.

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