Chief Diplomat






  

CHIEF DIPLOMAT



Chief Diplomat: The role of the President to negotiate the role of the U.S. Government with other nations around the world.

 
President Carter as Chief Diplomat

One of the best examples of President Carter serving his role as Chief Diplomat was the Camp David Accords. The Middle East is of great strategic importance to the United States, partly because of its oil reserves. Over 30 years before the Carter Administration, Israel and its neighbors experienced 4 wars and continuing conflict. President Carter attempted to create a diplomatic framework for coexistence and cooperation among the nations of that region. From September 5th to September 17th, 1978, Jimmy Carter met with President Anwar al-Sadat and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel at the Presidential retreat, Camp David to negotiate a peace sttlement.

The peace settlement included plans to create a role for the Palestinian people in governing the West Bank and Gaza Strip. These were hotly disputed territories in the Middle East that fell under Israeli control during war. The agreement also provided that Egypt would not attack Israel. And finally, the agreement set conditions to bring other Middle East nations to the peace table. This is still today considered one of the most far-reaching efforts to create peace in the Middle East.