Ron Dermer is an American-born Israeli political consultant and diplomat serving as the Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs since 2022. He served as the Israeli Ambassador to the United States from 2013 to 2021.
In September 2016, towards the end of the Obama administration, Israel secured from the United States a 10-year, 38 billion dollar military aid package, the largest deal of its kind at the time. In December 2017, during the Trump presidency, the US recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and in May 2018 moved the American Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. That same month, Israel achieved its top diplomatic priority when the Trump administration withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran. In March 2019, the US also recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. In 2020, Dermer played a key role in bringing about the Abraham Accords which normalized Israel's relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. In the wake of the Accords, two more normalization agreements with Morocco and Sudan were signed in late 2020. In light of his contribution to the Abraham Accords and the subsequent normalization agreements, Dermer was nominated, along with other key US officials, for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Dermer was also credited by Dr. Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, for his work in helping Israel obtain millions of Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines and by the convicted American spy Jonathan Pollard for his work in securing his release and arrival in Israel.
In 2019, then Prime Minister Netanyahu named Dermer, along with former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, as potential successors.
Dermer stepped down as ambassador in 2021 after serving more than seven years in the post. He was replaced by Gilad Erdan.
