Gamal Helal is an Egyptian

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

-American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 interpreter and diplomat who has translated for several American presidents

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 and Secretaries of State.

Early life

Helal, a Coptic Christian was born in Asyut

Asyut

Asyut is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt; the ancient city of the same name is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , while the ancient city is at .- Etymology :...

, Egypt in 1954 and went on to study at Assiut University

Assiut University

Assiut University is a public university in Asyut, Egypt. The University was established in 1957 to encourage research, education and community services in Upper Egypt.Languages of Instruction are Arabic and English...

, where he earned a B.A. When he was 21 years of age, Helal left Egypt for the United States; studying at Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

's School for International Training

School for International Training

SIT Graduate Institute is the accredited college program of World Learning in Brattleboro, Vermont. The president and CEO is Adam Weinberg.History=SIT Graduate Institute began as the Experiment for International Living...

, he received an M.A. in cross-culture communication. In 1983 Helal officially became a U.S. citizen.

Diplomatic career

He began his diplomatic career in the mid-1980s when he joined the United States Department of State

United States Department of State

The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

. In the lead up to the Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

, Helal interpreted for Secretary of State James A. Baker III and Iraqi emissary Tariq Aziz

Tariq Aziz

Tariq Aziz and Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq and a close advisor of former President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s when both were activists for the then-banned Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party...

 at a meeting in Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, at which time Aziz was presented with an ultimatum to withdraw troops from Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

.

By 1993 he was a senior diplomatic interpreter, and later senior policy adviser to Dennis Ross

Dennis Ross

Dennis B. Ross is an American diplomat and author. He has served as the Director of Policy Planning in the State Department under President George H. W...

, then the special Middle East coordinator under President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

. Ross, reflecting on his engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, stated that "Most of my meetings with Yasser Arafat would start off with my delegation, but the real work would be done with just Arafat, me and Gamal." At the end of Clinton's term, Helal interpreted between him and Yasser Arafat during peace talks at Camp David

Camp David

Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. It is located in low wooded hills about 60 mi north-northwest of Washington, D.C., on the property of Catoctin Mountain Park in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Thurmont, at an elevation of...

, and was once tasked to speak alone with Arafat to try and convince him of the opportunity of the Israeli offer.

Helal continued to work under President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 and with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...

, and was an interpreter and senior adviser on the Middle East for the Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

administration until he left in October 2009 to launch his own consulting business, named Helal Enterprises.