Stephanie Hallett

Stephanie Hallett
Chargé d’Affaires ad interim to Israel
In office July 21, 2023 – November 5, 2023
President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Tom Nides (as ambassador)
Succeeded by	Jack Lew (as ambassador)
Personal details
Education	University of Cambridge George Washington University

Stephanie Hallett is an American diplomat and she had served chargé d'affaires ad interim at the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem from July 2023 to November 2023.

On June 13, 2024, President Biden announced his intent to nominate Hallett to be ambassador to Bahrain.

Early life

Hallett graduated with a BA from the George Washington University and an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge. She speaks Arabic and Spanish.

Diplomatic career

Hallett began her diplomatic career in the Office of Iranian Affairs and the State Department Operations Center in Washington, DC, as well as assignments at the U.S. consulates general in Monterrey, Mexico, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Her diplomatic career continued in assignments such as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus, and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Muscat, Oman. She also worked as deputy director of the Executive Secretariat Staff in Washington, DC, and held roles such as political and economic section chief at the U.S. Embassy in Manama, Bahrain, and deputy political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt.

Chargé d’Affaires ad interim to Israel

On July 21, 2023, Hallett was appointed chargé d'affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Prior to this role, she served as deputy chief of mission in Israel and also held the position of acting senior director for the Middle East and North Africa, as well as director of Gulf affairs at the National Security Council.

In her first tweet as embassy chief, she thanked former U.S. ambassador to Israel Thomas R. Nides for his "commitment to ensuring that the ties between the U.S. and Israel remained ironclad." She expressed support for U.S.-Israel relations, saying "I look forward to continuing the work of reinforcing the unshakable bond between the US and Israel as the U.S. Embassy in Israel’s chargé d’affaires." Nides told The Times of Israel that Hallett "is as good as it gets. A brilliant, experienced senior foreign service officer. I am leaving the embassy in great hands."

In September, the Biden administration expressed it would not confirm another ambassador to Israel before the 2024 U.S. presidential election because of the difficulties in getting such an appointment confirmed by the Senate in the current political climate in the U.S. and the time it would consume. This meant Hallett would continue her role as chargé d'affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem until 2024. The presumptive appointee is former U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.

Amid the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, Hallett said she was "sickened by the images coming out of southern Israel of dead and wounded civilians at the hands of terrorists from Gaza." She affirmed that the United States stands with Israel, and fully supports Israel's right to defend itself from such terrorist acts.