Amos Hochstein
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Amos J. Hochstein (born January 4, 1973) is an American businessman, diplomat, and former lobbyist. He was a top national and economic security official in the
Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...
. Hochstein has worked in the U.S. Congress, has testified before congressional panels and has served in the
Barack Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...
under Secretaries of State Clinton and Kerry. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in 2011 and as Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs in 2013. In 2015,
President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...
nominated Hochstein to be the
Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources The Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources is the head of the Bureau of Energy Resources within the United States Department of State, supporting the department's efforts in promoting international energy security. The assistant secre ...
but the Senate did not act on the nomination. While at the
State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
, Hochstein worked as a close advisor to
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
Biden. He served in the administration from 2011 to 2017. In March 2017, he joined Tellurian, a private
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
-based
LNG Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...
company, where he served as senior vice president marketing until his departure in September 2020. He serves on the boards of the
Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...
and U.S.-India Business Council. Hochstein is a former member of the supervisory board of Ukrainian
Naftogaz Naftogaz of Ukraine (, ''Naftogaz Ukrainy''; literally "Naphtha-Gas of Ukraine") is the largest national oil and gas company of Ukraine. It is a state-owned company
, from which he resigned in October 2020 by writing an opinion piece that highlighted the return of sabotage in the form of corrupt forces. On August 10, 2021,
United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...
Antony Blinken Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 71st United States secretary of state from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor, deputy national security advisor ...
announced that he would be appointing Hochstein as the senior advisor for energy security, and he was subsequently appointed special presidential coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security. He currently also leads Biden's Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.


Early life

Hochstein was born in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, the child of
American Jewish American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% ide ...
immigrants to Israel. He studied at Yeshivat Netiv Meir High School and the
Hartman Institute Shalom Hartman Institute is a Jewish research and education institute based in Jerusalem, that offers pluralistic Jewish thought and education to scholars, rabbis, educators, and Jewish community leaders in Israel and North America. The institu ...
in Jerusalem. He served in the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
(IDF)
Armored Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...
, attaining the rank of
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
and became liaison to foreign forces in the Mideast. Following his service, he left Israel and moved to New York City to work at
Bankers Trust Bankers Trust was a historic American banking organization. The bank merged with Alex. Brown & Sons in 1997 before being acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1999. Deutsche Bank sold the Trust and Custody division of Bankers Trust to State Street Corp ...
. While Hochstein's immediate family continue to live in Israel, he does not maintain
dual citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...
.


Career

Hochstein was a foreign policy adviser to Democratic Party members of the U.S. government House Foreign Affairs Committee from 1994 to January 2001.Four years after leaving post, will Dan Shapiro return as old-new US ambassador?
, ''Times of Israel,'' Tal Schneider (Jan 20, 2021)
He is married to Julie Rae Ringel; they have four children together and live in Washington D.C. His wife works for the Georgetown University Continuing Education School in the executive leadership coaching program. He identifies as a
Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...
Jew.


Advising Congress

On Capitol Hill, Hochstein first served on the
U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs ...
staff from 1994. In subsequent years he served in a variety of senior level positions, including the
House International Relations Committee The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs ...
, where he served as Senior Policy Advisor. In 1997, he was sent to
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
to report on the country's economic and military status as well as the progress and opportunities for humanitarian aid efforts. Later, Hochstein served as the Senior Policy Advisor to the
Foreign Affairs Committee Foreign Affairs Committee may refer to: * Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development * Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade * Foreign Affairs Committee of t ...
of the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
. Hochstein first served as the principal Democratic staff person on the Economic Policy, Trade & Environment Subcommittee where he oversaw work authorizing Ex-Im Bank,
OPIC The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) was the United States Government's Development finance institution until it merged with the Development Credit Authority (DCA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USA ...
and USTDA, as well as drafting legislation on export controls and trade-related multilateral organizations and regimes. Hochstein also worked as a Senior Policy Advisor to then-Governor
Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th gove ...
, and later as Policy Director for Senator
Chris Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the List of United Sta ...
. He joined Dodd's team in the beginning of 2007 and was the Policy Director during his 2008 Presidential campaign. Hochstein was also an aide to Representative
Sam Gejdenson Samuel Gejdenson (born May 20, 1948) is a former United States Representative for the 2nd Congressional District of Connecticut. Early life and education Born in a displaced persons camp in Eschwege, Allied-occupied Germany, Gejdenson was th ...
. During his time on
Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...
, Hochstein travelled to Iraq and was involved in U.S. back-channel diplomatic discussions to potentially lift U.S. economic sanctions in exchange for the potential resettlement of several thousand
Palestinian refugees Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country, village or house over the course of the 1948 Palestine war and during the 1967 Six-Day War. Most Palestinian refug ...
in Central Iraq. Hochstein argued that the economic sanctions had to be maintained while conceding that it was necessary to "humanise" those sanctions.


Cassidy & Associates

Hochstein later moved to the
private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...
as Executive Vice President of International Operations at
Cassidy & Associates Cassidy & Associates is a Washington, D.C.-based government relations firm established in 1977 by Gerald S. J. Cassidy. The firm focuses on lobbying the United States government for corporations and organizations. History Cassidy & Associates ...
. Throughout his career, he was a counselor and lobbyist for both domestic and international oil and gas companies, as well as companies focusing on renewable energy. In this capacity, he assisted corporations in assessing potential new markets and the development of alternative sources of power. While working at Cassidy & Associates, Hochstein also worked on the account of the president of Equatorial Guinea,
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (; born 5 June 1942) is an Equatoguinean politician, former military officer and dictator who has served as the second president of Equatorial Guinea since 1982. Previously, he was the Chairman of the Supreme Mi ...
, Africa's longest-serving dictator, to improve the relationship with the United States. In his book ''Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power'', two-time
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
winner
Steve Coll Steve Coll (born October 8, 1958) is an American journalist, academic, and executive. He was dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he also served as the Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism until 2022. A staff w ...
recounts, that while Hochstein initially was uncomfortable with the Equatorial Guinea account, he assisted in the development of a "road map" of political changes together with the
U.S. National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the national security council used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part ...
, that Equatorial Guinea would have to implement in order to display their political sincerity to change and to improve relations with the United States. The outlines involved prisoner releases, substantial public investments in health care and education and Hochstein coordinated the communication of these points with and between Equatorial Guinea's leadership and the State Department. Hochstein and others, among them Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...
and
Paul Wolfowitz Paul Dundes Wolfowitz (born December 22, 1943) is an American political scientist and diplomat who served as the 10th President of the World Bank, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, and dean of Paul H. Nitze Scho ...
, said they were convinced by Obiang's will to change and adapt. Equatorial Guinea under the Obiang regime remains by many accounts one of the world's least free countries. Hochstein defended the Obiang regime in an interview with the
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
. He stated that the development and support of the democratic process in countries like Equatorial Guinea must be supported and that Western states cannot expect changes of long-standing political realities overnight. Eventually Hochstein resigned from the lobbying account but continued to work for Cassidy until 2006.


Energy diplomat for the Obama administration

Hochstein began working at the
U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
in 2011, joining the newly formed
Bureau of Energy Resources The Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) is a bureau in the United States Department of State that coordinates the department's efforts in promoting international energy security. Under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Economic Grow ...
. Serving as deputy to Special Envoy
Carlos Pascual Carlos Pascual could refer to: * Carlos Pascual (baseball) (1931-2011), Cuban baseball player *Carlos Pascual (diplomat) Carlos Pascual (born 1959) is a Cuban-American diplomat and the former United States Ambassador to Mexico, U.S. Ambassador ...
, Hochstein worked to help
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
find new supplies of
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
in the wake of the 2014 Russian occupation of Crimea. He oversaw the Office of Middle East, Asia and Europe, the Western Hemisphere and Africa. Hochstein led the energy related diplomacy efforts.


Special envoy and coordinator of international energy affairs

On August 1, 2014, Hochstein succeeded
Carlos Pascual Carlos Pascual could refer to: * Carlos Pascual (baseball) (1931-2011), Cuban baseball player *Carlos Pascual (diplomat) Carlos Pascual (born 1959) is a Cuban-American diplomat and the former United States Ambassador to Mexico, U.S. Ambassador ...
as acting Special Envoy and Coordinator of International Energy Affairs, and was permanently appointed to the position later in the year by Secretary Kerry. As the Special Envoy, Hochstein oversaw the Bureau of Energy Resources and advised Secretary of State
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
on global energy security and diplomacy, as well as integration of renewable and clean energy and related security matters. He also worked closely with officials at the White House's National Security Council and other government agencies. In his capacity as the U.S.'s Chief Energy Diplomat, Hochstein had an important role in shaping foreign energy and security policy and worked closely with U.S. Vice President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
, accompanying him on international travel and advancing energy as a key U.S. foreign policy tool. Hochstein and Biden worked together on the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative, Central America Energy Security Task Force, Cyprus and East Mediterranean, as well as securing Ukraine and Europe from Russian energy dominance. Hochstein encouraged European countries to find new oil, gas, coal, and nuclear sources, to alleviate their dependence on Russian energy. In response to President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
's plans for new gas pipelines, including
Nord Stream 2 Nord Stream 2 (German language, German–English language, English mixed expression for "North Stream 2"; ) is a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany running through the Baltic Sea, financed by Gazprom and several European energy compani ...
via the Baltic Sea and
TurkStream TurkStream ( or ''Türk Akımı'', ; former name: Turkish Stream) is a natural gas pipeline running from Russia to Natural gas in Turkey, Turkey. It starts from Russkaya compressor station near Anapa in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, Krasnodar Region, c ...
via the Black Sea, to bypass an existing transit coordinator through
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
towards
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, Hochstein described the plans as "political projects that have questionable economic value" to the European energy market. He has also stated that the U.S.'s position isn't to exclude Russia from the European market entirely, but rather that Russia should be an equal player, remarking that "European countries should be able to choose their supplier and force their suppliers to compete for their business. That is what is good for energy security of Europe, economic security and ultimately for the national security of those countries involved." In November 2021, he accused Russia of taking advantage of the European energy crisis and making no effort to alleviate the situation. Hochstein has also been involved in the U.S. front against the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
, specifically cutting their oil revenues by disrupting their production lines. Hochstein oversaw the U.S. efforts to cripple Islamic State's energy business by weakening oil trade between ISIS, the Syrian government and other parties. His team coordinated with the
U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...
to determine targets. Airstrikes subsequently blew up over 1,000 tanker trucks and other key targets. In a testimony before the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for authorizing and overseeing foreign a ...
, Hochstein described the military actions as "not only more bombings, but a different kind of bombing." Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
cited Hochstein's work as helping to provide an incentive for the renewed relationship between Israel and Turkey. This followed his work to revive efforts to settle maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel. At the conclusion of his visit, Hochstein made statements stressing his visit was to discuss delayed gas exploration in Lebanon. In October 2022, he managed to negotiate a maritime deal between Lebanon and Israel following months of negotiations, settling the Israeli–Lebanese maritime border dispute. Previous to that in 2014, Hochstein helped “pave the way” for the $500 million natural gas agreement between Israel and Jordan visiting Jordan 14 times and was, alongside Israel's former president
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
, a "key broker" for the gas export deal. This agreement concluded an effort that Secretary of State Clinton began in 2011. In response to Russian officials claiming that the
Turkish government The Government of Turkey () is the national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative democracy and a constitutional republic within a pluriform multi-party system. The term government can me ...
was illegally buying oil from the Islamic State, Hochstein dismissed these claims, saying that "I do not believe there is significant smuggling between ISIL-controlled areas and Turkey of oil of any significant volume." Hochstein has also worked on multilateral energy affairs, meeting with Urban Rusnák, Secretary-General of the Energy Charter Conference, to discuss progress on the Energy Charter Process, discussing the advance of clean energy investments and energy security with government officials in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and meeting several other state leaders and government officials to coordinate energy and security matters with states like
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
and
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
and other states in the Middle East.


Assistant secretary of state for energy resources

On October 8, 2015, President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
nominated Hochstein to be the
assistant secretary of state for energy resources The Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources is the head of the Bureau of Energy Resources within the United States Department of State, supporting the department's efforts in promoting international energy security. The assistant secre ...
, the official chief position for the bureau. Hochstein continued his efforts in all previously engaged fields of national and international energy and security matters, including
sanctions against Iran There have been a number of international sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia, follo ...
, energy opportunities in
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
, the U.S.-India energy cooperation, the U.S.-
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
energy cooperation, the administration's strategy on Russia, and the fight against ISIS. He also was involved in discussing and mapping out details of the
Southern Gas Corridor The Southern Gas Corridor is an initiative of the European Commission for a natural gas supply route from Caspian and Middle Eastern regions to Europe, proposed in 2008. The goal of the Southern Gas Corridor is to reduce Europe's dependency on R ...
project generally and the
Trans Adriatic Pipeline The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP; ; ; ) is a natural gas pipeline operational since 2020, running from Greece through Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy. It is the final section of the Southern Gas Corridor originating in Azerbaijan. , capaci ...
with
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
specifically. He authored the White House Caribbean Energy Security Initiative and chaired President Obama's U.S.-Caribbean and U.S.-Central America Energy Security Task Force. He also continued to lead U.S. efforts to promote global fuel switching to
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
and develop stronger natural gas markets in Asia and South Asia. He headed the State Department's Unconventional Gas Technical Engagement Program, formerly known as Global
Shale Gas Shale gas is an unconventional natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations. Since the 1990s, a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has made large volumes of shale gas more economical to produce, and ...
Initiative. He was succeeded by Frank R. Fannon, now Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources. Since leaving the White House, Hochstein appeared on a Trump White House panel promoting the use of natural gas and LNG
fossil fuels A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geologica ...
at the 2016 Bonn Climate Change Conference.


Executive at Tellurian

In 2017 Hochstein joined Tellurian, a private LNG-gas company, as EVP of Marketing, from which he resigned in September 2020.


Senior advisor on energy security for Biden administration

Per a US State Department Spokesperson, Hochstein "is not a dual national." The State Department declined to comment on whether Hochstein formerly held Israeli citizenship and renounced it, a practice that dual citizens sometimes engage in in order to take on more sensitive positions in the US government.Amos Hochstein: The Israel-born diplomat mediating Lebanon-Israel maritime border negotiations
" '' L'Orient Today'', November 5, 2021
According to the Washington Post, Hochstein is a close aide of President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
. Former U.S. State Department official David Goldwyn said that Hochstein acts as “the person who bridges State, Treasury, the White House and Energy.” In June 2022, ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' reported that Hochstein was serving as President Biden's top energy advisor, or “energy whisperer,” in both domestic and international energy issues. In 2022, Hochstein "helped shape" the White House effort to reduce gas prices during the height of the 
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, and throughout 2022 often traveled with Biden to overseas meetings. Visiting Lebanon in late 2022, Hochstein was lead negotiator of a maritime deal between Lebanon and Israel meant to "pave the way for offshore gas exploration." The deal resolved a  decades-long dispute between Israel and Lebanon surrounding the two countries' maritime border and the gas fields located there. With
U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
 
Antony Blinken Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 71st United States secretary of state from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor, deputy national security advisor ...
 calling the agreement "historic," Israeli prime minister
Yair Lapid Yair Lapid ( ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician of the centrist Yesh Atid party and a former journalist who has been the Leader of the Opposition (Israel), Leader of the Opposition since January 2023, having previously served in t ...
tweeted: "On behalf of the State of Israel, I thank American mediator @AmosHochstein for his hard work to bring about this historic agreement." Hochstein served as Biden's special presidential coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security until 2023 when he moved to the White House as deputy assistant to the president and senior advisor for energy and investment. He also leads Biden's Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, which launched at the  2022 G7 summit with the aim of coordinating the international supply chain of clean energy. During the Israel–Hezbollah conflict, Hochstein made multiple trips to Lebanon as a special U.S. envoy in order to negotiate a resolution to the conflict. His strategy was to push
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
to pressure
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
into accepting a ceasefire agreement to end the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
. In the case Israel and Hamas were to reach such a deal, Hezbollah had promised to in turn end its attacks on Israel. On 17 and 18 September 2024, thousands of handheld
pager A pager, also known as a beeper or bleeper, is a Wireless communication, wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays Alphanumericals, alphanumeric or voice messages. One-way pagers can only receive messages, while response p ...
s and walkie-talkies used by
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
simultaneously 2024 Lebanon pager explosions, exploded across Lebanon and Syria. The attack came just a day after Hochstein visited Israel and warned Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
against provoking a major Spillover of the Israel–Hamas war, escalation in Lebanon.


Energy and foreign policy positions

Hochstein sees Renewable energy, renewable energies as very important and being at the center of both the future's energy market and U.S. energy policy. He is of the opinion that the realistic transition into a fully renewable resourced energy mix will take some time and that the use of cleaner resources (e.g.
LNG Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...
to replace heavy crude oils) for this transition period is crucial to sustain economic developments and growth. Hochstein said: "Here in Washington, I think we are the last city on the planet…where we still talk about fossil fuel versus renewables as some kind of zero-sum game […] It is not one or the other. It is going to have to be both because we are going to need the baseload and we are going to need the fuels that will transition us to the future." At the 2015 Renewable Energy Transition event hosted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the
Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...
's Global Energy Center, Hochstein stated that "unlike oil and gas, the technological advances we’re seeing in renewables are making them cheaper and better." He further said: "U.S. energy security, energy sustainability and climate objectives are mutually reinforcing. As such, we are working to promote Efficient energy use, energy efficiency, conservation and transformation of energy systems. We are encouraging market reforms, such as the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, that can address World energy consumption, overall energy demand." Hochstein has been interviewed by national and international media, commenting on national and international energy policy, energy security, and foreign policy. Due to environmental and economic considerations, the Biden administration and the subject have opposed the proposed EastMed pipeline in favor of an Egyptian route.


Memberships

Hochstein is a former member of the board of the
Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...
and the U.S.-Indian Business Council. Hochstein is a former member of the supervisory board of the Ukraine, Ukrainian energy company
Naftogaz Naftogaz of Ukraine (, ''Naftogaz Ukrainy''; literally "Naphtha-Gas of Ukraine") is the largest national oil and gas company of Ukraine. It is a state-owned company
. He was appointed in 2017 and resigned in October 2020 claiming that the Ukrainian government was returning to corruption in Ukraine, corrupted practices vis-a-vis the company.A foreigner leaves the supervisory board of Naftogaz: "Sabotage by corrupt forces is growing"
Ukrayinska Pravda (12 October 2020)
In October 2019 Hochstein was mentioned by former U.S. officials in relation to the Trump–Ukraine scandal. It was reported that as early as May 2019 Hochstein alerted the National Security Council staff that Rudy Giuliani and Gordon Sondland's pressure tactics were rattling Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. It was also reported that Rick Perry planned to have Hochstein replaced as a member of the board at
Naftogaz Naftogaz of Ukraine (, ''Naftogaz Ukrainy''; literally "Naphtha-Gas of Ukraine") is the largest national oil and gas company of Ukraine. It is a state-owned company
with someone aligned with Republican interests. Perry denied the reports.''The Wall Street Journal'', "How Rick Perry Became a Figure in the Impeachment Inquiry," Oct. 18, 201


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hochstein, Amos 1973 births American lobbyists American Orthodox Jews American people of Israeli descent Energy policy of the United States Biden administration personnel Living people Petroleum politics Place of birth missing (living people) United States Department of State officials United States special envoys Washington, D.C., Democrats