Obama nominates Walles as US Ambassador to Tunisia

US President Barack Obama nominated Jacob Walles as Ambassador to Tunisia, days after Moncef Marzouki was sworn in as President of the country. A White House statement said Walles is "a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. He is currently Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, responsible for US relations with Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinians." From 2009 to 2010, he was a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as Consul General and Chief of Mission in Jerusalem from 2005 to 2009. Prior to this assignment, he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Greece from 2003 to 2005. Previously, Walles served as the Director of the Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs and as Deputy Principal Officer at the US Consulate General in Jerusalem. Earlier in his career, Walles served in a number of other positions involving Middle Eastern affairs, including Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Special Assistant for the Middle East Peace Process in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, and First Secretary at the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. If approved by Congress, he will be the first US ambassador appointed after the revolution last January.