Guest Bio: Edward G. Abington

Mr. Abington currently is Senior Associate at Bannerman and Associates where he provides counsel to the Palestinian National Authority on their relations with Washington.

Prior to leaving the Department of State in December, 1999, Edward Abington had a distinguished thirty year career in the Foreign Service, most of which was spent in the Middle East or in Washington, DC, dealing with the Arab-Israeli dispute.

Mr. Abington’s last overseas assignment was in Jerusalem from 1993-1997 as the American Consul General where he was the senior American representative dealing with Yasser Arafat and other members of the Palestinian National Authority, following its establishment in 1994.

Abington helped negotiate various Israeli-Palestinian agreements implementing the 1993 Oslo Agreement, including the 1995 Interim Agreement and the 1997 Hebron Agreement.

Abington also served at American Embassies in Damascus, Tunis and Tel Aviv, as well as four years in Islamabad. While working on South Asia, he helped negotiate an end to Soviet military assistance to the Afghan Government

In the State Department, Abington was most recently the Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, where he had responsibility for overseeing intelligence production, as well as dealing with terrorism issues. He also served on numerous interagency intelligence advisory bodies and testified frequently before Congressional intelligence oversight committees.

Abington served as Director of Pakistani and Afghan Affairs, Director of Middle Eastern Personnel, acting Director of the Office of Israel and Arab-Israeli Affairs, Acting Director of North African Affairs and on the Jordan Desk. Mr. Abington has received numerous awards during his career, including the Distinguished Honor Award from Secretary Albright for his role in negotiating the 1997 Hebron Agreement and several Superior Honor Awards.