David Linfield

About David Linfield

David Linfield is a U.S. diplomat with over 20 years of experience living and working in the Middle East. He served on the National Security Council as Director for North African Affairs from June 2024 to January 2025.David was Special Assistant for Near Eastern Affairs for Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell 20••••24, after serving in the same capacity for Toria Nuland. Prior to that David worked on the Department of State’s Libya Desk, where he coordinated U.S. efforts to advance Libya’s political process and strengthen stability in North Africa. David took a sabbatical from 2020 to 2021 to conduct an International Affairs Fellowship with the Council on Foreign Relations. From 2016 to 2020, David served as U.S. Embassy Amman’s lead analyst of Jordanian domestic politics. Earlier in his career David worked at the U.S. embassies in Mali and Egypt, where he helped coordinate U.S. Embassy Cairo’s public communications during the Arab Spring. David joined the Department of State in 2010 after completing a Fulbright fellowship in Jordan.David has an MA in international security policy from the George Washington University in Washington DC and a BA in Arabic and international relations from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Born in Saudi Arabia, David also spent part of his childhood living in Yemen and Jordan.

Experience

1. Foreign Service Officer

   U.S. Department Of State

   Oct 2010 — Present

Education

• Middlebury College

  Arabic

  2006 — 2006

• The George Washington University

  MA, Security Policy Studies

  2007 — 2009

• University of St Andrews

  MA, Arabic, International Relations

  2004 — 2007