Gamal Helal (born March 22, 1954) is an

Egyptian-American Egyptian Americans () are Americans of partial or full Egyptian ancestry. The 2016 US Census estimated the number of people with Egyptian ancestry at 256,000, most of whom are from Egypt's Christian Orthodox Coptic minority. Egyptian Americans m ...

interpreter and diplomat who translated on behalf of multiple

Presidents of the United States The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the officeholder leads the executive bra ...

and Secretaries of State.

Early life

Helal, a Coptic

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, was born in

Asyut AsyutAlso spelled ''Assiout'' or ''Assiut''. ( ' ) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt. It was built close to the ancient city of the same name, which is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , while the ancient city i ...

, Egypt, in 1954 and went on to study at

Assiut University Assiut University is a university located in Assiut, Egypt. It was established in October 1957 as the first university in Upper Egypt. Statistics *Faculty members: 2,442 *Assistant lecturers and demonstrators: 1,432 *Administrative staff: 11 ...

, where he earned a B.A. When he was 21 years of age, Helal left Egypt for the United States; studying at

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

School for International Training The School for International Training, widely known by its SIT Graduate Institute, is a private non-profit regionally-accredited institution headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. The institution has two main divisions. Graduate ...

, he received an M.A. in cross-culture communication. In 1983 Helal officially became a U.S. citizen.

Diplomatic career

He began his diplomatic career in the mid-1980s when he joined the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

. In the lead-up to the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, Helal interpreted for Secretary of State

James A. Baker III James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House chief of staff and 67th United States secretary of the treasury under President ...

and Iraqi emissary

Tariq Aziz Tariq Aziz (, , 28 April 1936 – 5 June 2015) was an Iraq, Iraqi politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq from 1979 to 2003 and Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iraq), Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1983 ...

at a meeting in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, at which time Aziz was presented with an ultimatum to withdraw troops from

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. By 1993 he was a senior diplomatic interpreter, and later senior policy adviser to

Dennis Ross Dennis B. Ross (born November 26, 1948) is an American diplomat and author. He served as the Director of Policy Planning in the State Department under President George H. W. Bush, the special Middle East coordinator under President Bill Clinton ...

, then the special Middle East coordinator under President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. Ross, reflecting on his engagement in the

Israeli-Palestinian peace process Israelis (; ) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Jews and Arabs, who respectively account for 75 percent and 20 percent of the national figure, followed by other ethnic and ...

, stated that "Most of my meetings with Yasser Arafat would start off with my delegation, but the real work would be done with just Arafat, me and Gamal." At the end of Clinton's term, Helal interpreted between him and Yasser Arafat during peace talks at

Camp David Camp David is a country retreat for the president of the United States. It lies in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont, Maryland, Thurmont and Emmitsburg, Maryland, Emmitsburg, a ...

, and was once tasked to speak alone with Arafat to try to convince him of the opportunity of the Israeli offer. Helal continued to work under President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

and with 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 was an interpreter and senior adviser on the Middle East for the

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 ...

administration until he left in October 2009 to launch his own consulting business, named Helal Enterprises.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helal, Gamal 1954 births People from Asyut Living people Egyptian people of Coptic descent American people of Coptic descent Coptic Christians American Oriental Orthodox Christians Assiut University alumni SIT Graduate Institute alumni Egyptian emigrants to the United States Interpreters Diplomats for the United States