Ambassador to Israel and Syria Eduard Djeredjian Gives Lecture at AUA

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YEREVAN, Armenia – On April 28th, Ambassador Eduard Djeredjian spoke to class of students enrolled in the General Education Undergraduate course in Development Policy. The lecture was followed by an interactive Q&A session with the students, moderated by Dr. Arpie Balian.

Introduced by AUA President Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian, Ambassador Djeredjian’s lecture was a motivational discussion about career building, success, and diplomacy. He briefly introduced himself as the son of an Armenian Genocide survivor, and that his native language is Armenian. Sir Djeredjian shared stories, experiences, and valuable lessons from his career as a U.S. diplomat, in addition, he also highlighted the interesting transition from being the Ambassador to Syria, to his next post as Ambassador to Israel.

Ambassador Djeredjian highlighted the importance of doing everything to succeed in any career. In the field of diplomacy, there are careerists and diplomats. Careerists aim at higher positions, while diplomats stand up for their values, principles, and beliefs.

He stated, “No matter what career you get into, be true to yourself in what you believe, do your homework, but follow your heart and mind.”

During the interactive Q&A session, he covered the importance of the United States of the United States and Israel recognizing the Armenian Genocide, and how the issue of genocide can only be resolved by direct engagement of the current Turkish and Armenian Republics in order to reach resolution. He also addressed his personal and political opinions on the recent breach of cease fire of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian is the director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. His career in the U.S. Foreign Service spanned the administrations of eight presidents from John F. Kennedy to William J. Clinton. Djerejian is a leading expert on national security, foreign policy, and the complex political, security, economic, religious and ethnic issues of the Middle East and South Asia. Prior to his nomination as U.S. ambassador to Israel, he served both President George H.W. Bush and President Clinton as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs and President Ronald Reagan and President Bush as U.S. ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic.

He holds a Bachelor of Science and a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from Georgetown, as well as a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from Middlebury College. Djerejian has been awarded the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the Department of State’s Distinguished Honor Award, the President’s Meritorious Service Award, the Anti-Defamation League’s Moral Statesman Award, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He is also a recipient of the Association of Rice Alumni’s Gold Medal for his service to the university. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.