The White House has appointed a new special assistant to President Barack Obama for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region. It will be Robert Malley, the assistant of the head of state for national security, Susan Rice, informed.
Malley, who now works as Senior Director of National Security Council of the White House (NSC) on Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Gulf countries, will start his work in the new position on April 6, succeeding the retiring Philip Gordon, RIA Novosti reports.
Rice said Gordon "is leaving the White House to spend more time with his family and to carry out other professional endeavors." According to her, "a better replacement for Phil than Rob just cannot be found, he is one of the most respected experts in our country, who from February 2014 played a key role in shaping our policy on Iran, Iraq and the Gulf countries."
Malley previously worked in a number of positions in several US administrations, and from 2001 to 2014 headed the Middle East department at a non-governmental organization.
