Editing Elliott Abrams (section)

{{Short description|American politician and lawyer (born 1948)}}
{{redirect|Elliot Abrams|the weather forecaster|Elliot Abrams (meteorologist)}}
{{use mdy dates |date=August 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Elliott Abrams
| image               = EABRAMS CFR.jpg
| caption             = Abrams in 2019
| office              = [[Ambassadors of the United States|United States Special Representative]]<br />for [[Iran]]
| president           = [[Donald Trump]]
| term_start          = September 1, 2020
| term_end            = January 20, 2021
| predecessor         = [[Brian Hook]]
| successor           = [[Robert Malley]]
| office1             = [[Ambassadors of the United States|United States Special Representative]]<br />for [[2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis|Venezuela]]<!-- This is his official title according to the State Department and is cited in the lede prose. // https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/288595.htm -->
| president1          = [[Donald Trump]]
| term_start1         = January 25, 2019
| term_end1           = January 20, 2021
| predecessor1        = Position established
| successor1          = ''Vacant''
| office2             = 24th [[United States National Security Advisor|United States Deputy National Security Advisor]]
| president2          = [[George W. Bush]]
| term_start2         = February 2, 2005
| term_end2           = January 20, 2009<br />Serving with [[James Franklin Jeffrey|James Franklin Jeffery]] and [[Jack Dyer Crouch II]]
| predecessor2        = [[Stephen Hadley]]
| successor2          = [[Tom Donilon]]
| office3             = 23rd [[Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs|Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs]]
| president3          = [[Ronald Reagan]]
| term_start3         = July 17, 1985
| term_end3           = January 20, 1989
| predecessor3        = [[Langhorne A. Motley|Langhorne Motley]]
| successor3          = [[Bernard W. Aronson|Bernard Aronson]]
| office4             = 3rd [[Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs]]
| president4          = [[Ronald Reagan]]
| term_start4         = December 12, 1981
| term_end4           = July 17, 1985
| predecessor4        = [[Patricia M. Derian|Patt Derian]]
| successor4          = [[Richard Schifter]]
| office5             = 14th [[Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs]]
| president5          = [[Ronald Reagan]]
| term_start5         = May 13, 1981
| term_end5           = December 1, 1981
| predecessor5        = [[Richard Lee McCall, Jr.|Richard McCall]]
| successor5          = [[Gregory J. Newell|Gregory Newell]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1948|1|24}}
| birth_place         = {{nowrap|[[New York City]], U.S.}}
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]<br/> (before 1980)<br/> [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]<br/> (1980–present)
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Rachel Abrams|Rachel Decter]]|1980|2013|reason=died}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stljewishlight.com/news/world/article_e9c06a9b-3882-5e5e-8f60-ab83750f4908.html |title=Rachel Abrams, writer and artist, dies |work=St. Louis Jewish Light |access-date=April 14, 2023 |archive-date=November 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116181607/http://www.stljewishlight.com/news/world/article_e9c06a9b-3882-5e5e-8f60-ab83750f4908.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| children            = 3
| education           = {{nowrap|[[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Juris Doctor|JD]])}}<br>[[London School of Economics]] ([[Master of Science|MSc]])
| relations           = [[Floyd Abrams]] (cousin)<br />[[Ronnie Abrams]] (cousin)<br />[[Dan Abrams]] (cousin)
}}
'''Elliott Abrams''' (born January 24, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer, who has served in foreign policy positions for [[President of the United States|presidents]] [[Ronald Reagan]], [[George W. Bush]], and [[Donald Trump]]. Abrams is considered to be a [[neoconservative]].<ref name=PoliticoJan2019 /> He was a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the [[Council on Foreign Relations]].<ref name="Council on Foreign Relations">{{cite web|url=http://www.cfr.org/bios/1567/elliott_abrams.html|title=Elliott Abrams Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies|year=2009|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations|access-date=November 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110126024649/http://www.cfr.org/bios/1567/elliott_abrams.html|archive-date=January 26, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> He served as the U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela from 2019 to 2021 and as the U.S. Special Representative for Iran from 2020 to 2021.

His involvement in the [[Iran–Contra affair|Iran-Contra scandal]] during the Reagan administration led to his conviction in 1991 on two misdemeanor counts of unlawfully withholding information from [[United States Congress|Congress]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pol-abrams-congress-venezuela-20190213-story.html|title=Elliott Abrams, U.S. envoy for Venezuela, faces combative House hearing as policy stalls|last=Wilkinson|first=Tracy|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=13 February 2019|access-date=2019-02-14}}</ref><ref name=":2"/> He was later pardoned by president [[George H. W. Bush]].

During George W. Bush's first term, he served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director on the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] for Near East and North African Affairs. At the start of Bush's second term, Abrams was promoted to be his Deputy National Security Advisor for Global Democracy Strategy, in charge of promoting Bush's strategy of "advancing democracy abroad." In the Bush administration, Abrams was a supporter of the [[Iraq War]]. Abrams led the 1998 [[Project for the New American Century]] (PNAC) letter demanding the removal of [[Saddam Hussein]] as a primary policy goal.

During Donald Trump's term, on January 25, 2019, he was appointed by Mike Pompeo as Special Representative for Venezuela.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/288595.htm|title=Abrams, Elliott|date=January 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127122937/https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/288595.htm |archive-date=2019-01-27 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/john_hudson/status/1088912260398006272?s=21|title=Mike Pompeo just named Eliot Abrams his new special envoy for Venezuela. Abrams plead guilty to withholding information from Congress about the Iran-Contra affair. Pompeo says Abrams will be in charge of "all things related to our efforts to restore Democracy in Venezuela."pic.twitter.com/mCyJKikJyn|last=Hudson|first=John|date=2019-01-25|website=@john_hudson|language=en|access-date=2019-01-26}}</ref> On September 1, 2020, he was further appointed to concurrently serve as the U.S. Special Representative for Iran.

On July 3, 2023, he was appointed by President Joe Biden to the non-partisan [[U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/07/03/president-biden-announces-nominees-to-bipartisan-boards-and-commissions/|title=President Biden Announces Nominees to Bipartisan Boards and Commissions|date=July 3, 2023 }}</ref>