Joseph Ghougassian
Joseph Antoine Ghougassian is an Egyptian Armenian-American academic, diplomat, and politician. Ghougassian served as the List of [ambassadors of the United States to Qatar|United States Ambassador to Qatar] from 1985 to 1989.
Education
Ghougassian received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Gregorian University in Rome, a PhD in philosophy from the University of Louvain, Belgium and a JD and MA in international relations from the University of San Diego.Foreign policy
In 1981, Ghougassian became a senior White House advisor on immigration and refugee policy. He advocated accommodations for temporary migrant workers approximating the lapsed Bracero Program, which Ronald Reagan eventually signed into law under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.Ghougassian served as Peace Corps director in North Yemen from 1982 to 1985.
When he was confirmed in 1985, Ghougassian became the first naturalized United States citizen from the Middle East to become a U.S. Ambassador. Ghougassian made at least two protests to Emir Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani over Qatar's refusal to return American-made FIM-92 Stinger missiles purchased on the black market, but received no response. This catalyzed a congressional ban on weapons sales, lasting until Qatar agreed to destroy the missiles during the coalition buildup for the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
In September 1988, Ghougassian persuaded the Qatari government to end its prohibition against public Christian worship. As a result, he was made a Knighthood Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul II in 1989.
Ghougassian was an education advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority during the Iraq War. As deputy of John Agresto in the Ministry of Higher Education and [Scientific Research (Iraq)|Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research], his purview was reconstructing universities. Ghougassian supported the restoration of the Iraqi Museum of Natural History from looting damage. Ghougassian accompanied 25 Iraqi Fulbright Scholars to the White House for a meeting with President George W. Bush.
In August 2006, Ghougassian was appointed manager of USAID projects to strengthen the delivery of public utilities in Baghdad. In 2008, he was USAID's project leader for Afghanistan, introducing an "improved wheat" program to combat the cultivation of opium poppies. In 2009, Ghougassian was the acting director of the Office of Constitutional and Legislative Affairs at the Embassy of [the United States, Baghdad|United States Embassy in Baghdad].