The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council will host a discussion over lunch featuring keynote remarks by Dr. Matthew Spence, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy on Wednesday, March 5th in Washington, D.C.  The event will provide a unique opportunity for private and public sector stakeholders to hear Dr. Spence discuss his insights into the U.S.-U.A.E. relationship and thoughts on broader regional geopolitics impacting the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.  For your reference, his biography can be found below.

Dr. Matthew Spence
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Middle East Policy
U.S. Department of Defense

Dr. Matthew Spence is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy. He is the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on international security strategy and policy for fourteen countries in the Middle East, including Iran, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Iraq, and the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula. Dr. Spence is responsible for bilateral security relations and oversight of security cooperation programs, including Foreign Military Sales, in the region.

Prior to joining the Defense Department, Dr. Spence served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economic Affairs at the National Security Council and Senior Advisor to two National Security Advisors at the White House. He also served on President-elect Obama’s National Security Council transition team.

Dr. Spence was co-founder and director of the Truman National Security Project, He has also served as a Lecturer in International Relations at Oxford University and a Fellow at the Stanford Center on Democratization, Development, and the Rule of Law. Trained as a lawyer, Dr. Spence also practiced criminal and international law in California, and served as a law clerk for Judge Richard Posner of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals for the United States. Dr. Spence is widely published in foreign affairs, including articles in the Los Angeles Times, International Herald Tribune, Yale Law Journal, and various books and publications.

A Marshall Scholar and Truman Scholar, Dr. Spence received his doctorate in International Relations from Oxford University; J.D. from Yale Law School; and B.A. and M.A. in International Policy Studies from Stanford University. He was born and raised in southern California.