Back to Officials
Name: Welch, C. David
Current Position: Former Assistant Secretary
C. David Welch, the Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs during George W. Bush's second term, was born in Munich, Germany in 1953 and spent his childhood living in Germany, Brazil, Morocco, Ecuador and Mexico. His parents were also in the Foreign Service. Welch studied at the London School of Economics from 1973-1974. He graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 1975 and he earned his master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
From 1977-1979, Welch served in the U.S Office of the Under Secretary for Security Assistance, Science, and Technology. From 1979-1982 he was political officer in the U.S Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. Welch was the officer in charge of Syria (1981-1982) and Lebanon (1982-1983) in Washington. From 1984 to 1986, he served as Chief of the Political Section in Damascus, Syria and from 1986 to 1988, he served as a political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan. In 1989 he was a member of the National Security Council staff at the White House and in 1991 Welch was Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs at the Department of State for a year. He was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 1992-1995. In the absence of an ambassador, he served there for two years (1992-94) as charge d’affaires. In the late 1990s Welch served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. In that position he played a leading role in implementing U.S. policy toward Iran, Iraq, and Libya, while serving as manager of one of State’s key regional bureaus.
From October 1998 to August 2001, Mr. Welch served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs. The IO Bureau develops and implements U.S. policy in the United Nations and other international organizations. He was also U.S Ambassador to Egypt from August 2001 to March 2005. C. David Welch was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs on March 18, 2005, and served until he announced his retirement in December 2008.
Welch met his wife, Gretchen Gerwe Welch, while both were serving in the Foreign Service in Pakistan. She is currently the Director of the Office of Resources, Policy and Planning in the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
C. David Welch - “The Political Situation in Lebanon” - House Foreign Affairs Committee (World Council For The Cedars Revolution)
Assistant Secretary Welch on Middle East Peace Process (The United States Mission to the European Union)