Consul General
Biography
Paul Sutphin assumed charge as U.S. Consul General in Dubai and the northern Emirates in August 2006. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, he has wide-ranging experience on Middle East and North African issues, including Arab/Israel issues, Iraq, Iran, Libya, counter-terrorism and terrorist financing.
Mr. Sutphin recently served as Deputy Director for Political Affairs in the Department of State’s Office of Iraq. He was previously Acting Director of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affair’s Office of Regional Affairs, focusing on counter-terror and human rights issues. Mr. Sutphin served as the Middle East and North Africa liaison at the U.S. Embassy in London; he was also the first US diplomat to spend one year as an exchange officer with the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, working on the range of Middle East peace issues. As principal economic officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem, he focused on Palestinian economic issues.
Mr. Sutphin worked as Special Assistant to Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer on the Arab-Israeli peace negotiations that set the stage for the 1993 Olso agreement. Earlier in his career he served on the Executive Staff of the Secretary of State. He was also Desk Officer for Pakistan and worked as a Consular and Political officer at the U.S. Embassies in Copenhagen, Denmark and Georgetown, Guyana.
Mr. Sutphin is an honors graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and received a Masters’ Degree in Strategic Studies from the National War College. He is a six-time recipient of the Department of State’s Superior Honor Award.
Mr. Sutphin was born and raised in New York state, but his family has deep ties to Virginia. He is married to Catherine K. Sutphin and has two elementary-age children. He speaks Arabic, Danish, and French.