Frederic C. Hof

Frederic C. Hof "is the President and CEO of AALC, limited company and was a founding partner of AALC’s predecessor, Armitage Associates L.C. Since 1993 he has been working closely with corporate clients internationally to solve problems, devise strategies and provide key issue analysis across a broad spectrum of business sectors.

"Mr. Hof’s professional life, both in the public and private sectors, has focused largely on the Middle East. From January through May 2001 he directed the Jerusalem field operations of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee headed by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, and was the lead drafter of the Committee’s April 30, 2001 Report. In 1983, as a U.S. Army officer, he was a principal drafter of the “Long Commission” report, which investigated the October 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine headquarters at Beirut International Airport. In both cases these reports attracted considerable international acclaim for fairness and integrity.

"A native of New York and a 1969 graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Mr. Hof began his professional career as an Army officer. He is a Vietnam Veteran and served as a U.S. Army Middle East Foreign Area Officer, studying Arabic at the Foreign Service Institute in Tunisia and receiving a Masters Degree from the Naval Postgraduate School. He served as U.S. Army Attache in Beirut, Lebanon and later in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as Director for Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Palestinian Affairs.

"From 1990 to mid-1993 Mr. Hof served in a senior capacity in the Department of State as a mediator between Israel and Jordan on a water rights issue, as a negotiator over the future of U.S. military bases in the Philippines, and as Deputy in the Office of the Coordinator for U.S. Assistance to the New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union. His NIS-related duties included directing emergency humanitarian assistance to Armenia and Georgia, promoting U.S. private sector trade and investment, and establishing joint technical assistance programs with Turkey and Israel.

"In addition to his work at AALC, Mr. Hof has written extensively on Middle Eastern subjects, often on Arab-Israeli boundary and water issues. He is the author of Galilee Divided: The Israel-Lebanon Frontier, 1916-1984 (Westview Press, 1985), Line of Battle, Border of Peace? The Line of June 4, 1967 (Middle East Insight, 1999), and Beyond the Boundary: Lebanon, Israel and the Challenge of Change (Middle East Insight, 2000). He is also the author of numerous articles on Jordan Valley water issues. His research and writing on the Israel-Syria, Israel-Lebanon and (by virtue of the key role he played on the “Mitchell” Committee) Israel-Palestinian tracks of the Middle East peace process have attracted considerable attention and praise.

"Mr. Hof currently serves on the National Advisory Committee of the Middle East Policy Council. His awards include the Purple Heart, the Department of State’s Superior Honor Award, the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Medal and the Defense Superior Service Medal. He resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with his wife, Brenda."

• Director, Civic Education Project