William Lawrence
Sr Adj Prof Lecturer
School of International Service
Degrees
MALD and Ph.D, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University Certificate, CASA Program, American University in Cairo Certificate, Advanced Arabic, Bourguiba School, Tunis, Tunisia Second Cycle Degree in History, University of Paris IV BA, History and French, Duke University
Languages Spoken
Fluent Moroccan Arabic and French. Conversant Tunisian, Egyptian, and Modern Standard Arabic. Proficient Hassaniya, Tamazight, and Spanish.
Bio
Dr. Lawrence lived and worked for fifteen years as a senior diplomat, analyst, and international programs director in seven North African, Sahelian, and Middle Eastern countries and France. He is currently a senior scholar at the North Africa and Sahel Program of the Middle East Institute, manages projects for the Center for Ocean Policy and Economics at Northeast Maritime Institute, and consults for several MENA- and Africa-focused CSOs. Since 2011, he served as Crisis Group’s North Africa director with an additional Sahel portfolio, the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy’s MENA Program Director, and Control Risks’ MENA Associate Director. Previously, he served as Global Engagement Senior Advisor at the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES), where he developed programs as a member of three White House working groups for core Obama administration initiatives in global engagement with Muslim communities. He co-created Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST), the U.S. Science Envoy Program, and the Maghreb Digital Library; co-chaired the U.S.-Egypt S&T Development Fund for four years; directed a NATO wind energy project in Morocco and Mauritania; co-created the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership; served as a West Africa regional security officer; served at U.S. missions in Nouakchott, Marrakech, Casablanca, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, Alexandria, Cairo, Jeddah, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Kuwait City; and helped negotiate and implement the first major U.S.-Libya agreement in decades. He has taught at Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, George Washington, Tufts/Fletcher School, Amideast/Mohamed V, and Cadi Ayyad universities and for six years in the U.S. intelligence community and has lectured at over 100 universities worldwide. He appears regularly on BBC, NPR, VOA, France 24, Al Jazeera, TRT, and CGTN and has appeared on over three dozen African TV and radio stations. He received six merit awards from the State Department, two medals from the Egyptian government, an alumni achievement award from Duke University, and the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Fenn School. He also co-produced six MENA-related films and fourteen albums of North African music.
