US Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack set to be Special Envoy to Syria

US Ambassador to Turkey, Thomas Barrack, is reportedly set to be appointed Special Envoy to Syria.

While the appointment has not yet been confirmed by the US State Department, various news sources reported on the development on Wednesday as Barrack attended a meeting in Washington, with Reuters stating the information came from an informed Turkish diplomat.

The meeting between US and Turkish officials concerned a new round of the Syria Working Group, and was also attended by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Nuh Yılmaz, and Turkish Ambassador to the US Sedat Önal.

The meeting discussed "easing sanctions on Syria in line with Trump's directives, combating terrorism, stabilising Syria, achieving peace with its neighbours, enabling millions of Syrians to return to their homes, preserving Syria's unity, and ensuring it did not become a safe-haven for terrorist organisations."

The meeting, alongside statements made by Trump and senior US officials over the past three months, signals that the US views Turkey as a key player in Syria's future.

While Barrack's appointment has not yet been confirmed, the US Secretary of State did reveal yesterday that he had been authorised to contact Syrian officials to assess their country's humanitarian needs.

Barrack not only has extensive connections inside Turkey as the US Ambassador there, but also enjoys a longstanding friendship with US President Trump.

Who is Thomas Barrack Jr?

Thomas Barrack Jr, 78, is an American billionaire from Los Angeles and the grandson of Catholic Lebanese immigrants who moved to the country in the early 20th century. His ancestral hometown is Zahle, located near the Syrian-Lebanese border.

Both Barrack and Trump have known each other since their thirties, with Barrack endorsing and fundraising for Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign and remaining a close advisor throughout his first term in office.

In addition to English, Barrack speaks Arabic, Spanish, and French.

He is the founder and retired CEO of Colony Capital, a Los Angeles-based investment firm which became one of the largest private real estate investment firms in the world, before its conversion to DigitalBridge, a global digital infrastructure investment firm.

Before entering into real estate investment, Barrack trained as a lawyer and was involved in financing projects for companies like Aramco, Bechtel, and Fluor in Saudi Arabia.

Barrack is also said to have served as a key liaison between Trump's team and the UAE during Trump's first term, including having introduced Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to the UAE's Ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Otaiba, in 2016.

It was Barrack's links to the UAE that saw him arrested in July 2021 on charges of acting as an unregistered agent for a foreign government, among other offences. In November 2022, however, he was acquitted of all charges.

Before this, Barrack was also one of the individuals granted a presidential pardon by Trump in the final days of his first term. His pardon was part of a longer list of individuals accused of involvement in the 2019 "college admissions scandal" in the US.

Upon Trump's decision to appoint him as US Ambassador to Turkey, the US State Department stated: "As the leader of a company with global reach, Mr. Barrack has extensive experience dealing with business, governmental, legal, and cultural issues in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. His demonstrated ability as a leader and manager in complex environments make him a well-qualified candidate to be the U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye."

Various reports have highlighted that Trump appears to view Barrack as someone capable of leveraging his deep ties in the Gulf region and his current position in Turkey to serve as an effective representative of US interests in Syria.