Daniel Ayalon

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Daniel "Danny" Ayalon (born 1955) is the former Israeli Ambassador to the United States. He was appointed to the position in 2002 by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Before taking on this responsibility, Ayalon had served as Deputy Foreign Policy Adviser to two previous Prime Ministers, during which time he was a member of the Israeli delegations to the Sharm El-Sheikh (1997), Wye Plantation (1998) and Camp David (2000) summits. He served in New York from 1993-1997 as the Director of the Bureau of Israel's Ambassador to the UN and as Deputy Chief of Mission in Panama from 1991-1992. Before his entrance into Israel's Foreign Service, Ayalon was a senior finance executive in Israel's leading international trading company.

Ayalon was a tough defender of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Disengagement plan, which withdrew all Israelis from the Gaza Strip. [1] He also played a leading role in the negotiations for the Roadmap to Peace and Israel's disengagement plan, including the exchange of letters' on April 14, 2004 between President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon.

He is married to Anne Ayalon, whom he met as a graduate student at Bowling Green State University. They have two children.

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by David Ivry	Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. 2002-2006	Succeeded by Sallai Meridor