July 16, 2026
For Immediate Release
Washington, D.C. – The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Her Excellency Ambassador Amal Mudallali, Ph.D., as a Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow and Head of the new Space Initiative at the Council.
This distinguished appointment recognizes H.E. Dr. Mudallali’s extraordinary career and expertise in diplomacy, multilateralism, political analysis, journalism, and space, health, and environmental diplomacy. H.E. Mudallali will play a key role in the current and future strategic direction of the organization, adding value to the mission and strengthening our programs with her insights and experiences as we continue to build bridges between the United States and the Arab world.
H.E. Mudallali, Ph.D., is a visiting Research Scholar at Princeton University, where she has taught Multilateralism, with a focus on Space Policy. She is the Founder and CEO of Bridges International Group, a political consultancy in Washington DC. She is an international affairs consultant and contributor to leading outlets in the Arab world on TV and in print. She publishes a space policy newsletter called Spaceflash.
Ambassador Mudallali served from 2018 to 2022 as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Lebanon to the United Nations. She was elected Vice President of the UN General Assembly in 2020 and served as Vice President of the UN First Committee dealing with disarmament and nuclear proliferation. She also served on the executive boards of UNICEF and of the Peacebuilding Commission and was elected Vice Chair of the Information Committee. She led an initiative to help needy countries during the global food crisis caused by the Ukraine war. She led an initiative to improve access to Covid 19 vaccines in the developing world. She championed the sustainability of space and co-led negotiations on a global compact for the environment.
Before her UN service, she worked from 1998 to 2005 as foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and from 2005 to 2017 as special consultant on American Affairs to Prime Minister Saad Hariri. She began her career as a journalist and served as a Washington correspondent for the BBC. She has appeared as a guest contributor on CNN, MSNBC, and Al Jazeera. And had published articles in Foreign Policy, The National Interest, Al Riyadh, Annahar, and other Arab print outlets.
H.E. Mudallali holds a Ph.D. in political communication from the University of Maryland, an MA in communication from Syracuse University, pursued an MA at the American University of Beirut, and holds a BA from the Lebanese University.
For her contribution to global diplomacy, Dr. Mudallali was awarded the prestigious title of Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor by French President Jacques Chirac.