Biography

Photo of Joseph Adam Ereli
Joseph Adam Ereli
Ambassador
Kingdom of Bahrain
Term of Appointment: 06/28/2007 to present

J. Adam Ereli, the new American Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, arrived in Manama August 30.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Ambassador Ereli’s nomination on June 28, 2007. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador to Bahrain, Ereli was Senior Advisor to the Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy for Overseas Communications, based in London. There he oversaw regional communications hubs in Brussels and Dubai, and the Arab Media Outreach Center in London.

Prior to serving in London, Mr. Ereli was Deputy Spokesman of the Department of State from 2003 to 2006. As Deputy Spokesman, he oversaw the Office of Press Relations, Office of Regional Media Outreach, Office of Broadcast Services, the website, the Foreign Press Centers, and the Press Office at USAID. Mr. Ereli served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Doha, Qatar, from 2000 to 2003.

He joined the Foreign Service in 1989 and has served abroad as a Junior Officer in Cairo, Egypt, Program Officer in Damascus, Syria, Cultural Affairs Officer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Public Affairs Officer in Sanaa, Yemen. In Washington, Mr. Ereli served as Director of the Office of Press and Public Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and as Director of the Office of Press Relations in the Bureau of Public Affairs.

Mr. Ereli earned a B.A. in History from Yale University in 1982 and an M.A. in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1989. Before entering the Foreign Service, he worked as a journalist and human rights activist in Paris, France. He speaks French and Arabic.