page_title: George J. Mitchell
section_title: Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
hierarchical_section_title: George J. Mitchell / After the Senate / Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
caption_attribution_description: U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East George J. Mitchell meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister Office in Jerusalem October 30, 2009. [State Department photo by Matty Stern U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv / Public Domain]
context_page_description: George John Mitchell Jr. is an American lawyer, businessman, author, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Mitchell served as a United States Senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995 and as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995. He briefly served as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine from 1979 to 1980.
  Since retiring from the Senate, Mitchell has taken up a variety of positions in politics and business. He held a leading role in negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland and the Middle East, being appointed United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland by President Clinton and as United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace by President Barack Obama. He was a primary architect of the 1996 Mitchell Principles and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, and was the main investigator in two "Mitchell Reports", one on the Arab–Israeli conflict and one on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball.
  Mitchell served as chairman of The Walt Disney Company from March 2004 until January 2007, and later as chairman of the international law firm DLA Piper.
context_section_description: On January 22, 2009, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed Mitchell as the administration's Special Envoy to the Arab-Israeli peace process, formally known as the "Special Envoy for Middle East Peace". The appointment was seen as an indication of the new Obama administration's increased focus on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The choice of Mitchell allowed Obama to demonstrate the seriousness and sincerity of his intentions regarding the peace process, without forcing him to immediately embark on a specific initiative before conditions were yet ripe. An analyst at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars said Mitchell's appointment "says to the world, 'I care about this issue; be patient with me.'" Abraham Foxman, the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, has stated that, "Sen. Mitchell is fair. He's been meticulously even-handed".
  Within the first week of his appointment, Mitchell was dispatched to visit Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia for peace discussions in light of the 2008-09 Gaza War between Israel and the Gaza Strip, in which both sides had recently entered into unilateral ceasefires. Mitchell began his meetings in Cairo on January 27, and Obama said his visit was part of the president's campaign promise to listen to both sides of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and negotiate a peace deal. However, in a continuation of a George W. Bush administration policy, Mitchell did not plan to talk to Hamas, a group Israel and the United States consider a terrorist organization, but instead focus on talks with the Palestinian National Authority. Mitchell first met with new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February 2009 and has met with many notable figures of the Middle East since. In 2010, he led the US delegation to the Palestine Investment Conference.
  On May 13, 2011, George Mitchell tendered his resignation from the post of Special Envoy to the Middle East. Obama praised Mitchell, stating, "His deep commitment to resolving conflict and advancing democracy has contributed immeasurably to the goal of two states [Israel and Palestine] living side by side in peace and security."
caption: Mitchell, as Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
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