Dennis Ross, 1948-

Working in the Defense Department, with the National Security Council or in the State Department under every president from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama, Ross helped shape U.S. Middle East policy. He helped get Israel to the 1991 Madrid peace conference. As President Bill Clinton’s Middle East envoy, he was active in the Oslo process, the 1994 Israel-Jordan treaty and the 2000 Camp David summit.

Photo: Earl McDonald, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration