Ambassador J. Peter Pham served as U.S. Special Envoy for the Great Lakes and Sahel Regions of Africa.
J. Peter Pham served as the United States Special Envoy for the Great Lakes (2018-2020) and Sahel (2020-2021) Regions of Africa, with the personal rank of U.S. Ambassador conferred by President Donald J. Trump. In September 2023, he became Non-Executive Chairman and, since January 2026, Executive Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer, of Ivanhoe Atlantic, an American company developing U.S.-aligned critical and strategic mineral projects to power America’s future, including the ultra-high grade Kon Kweni iron ore project in Guinea. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Senior Advisor at the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University, and a Ben Franklin Fellow.
Pham was previously Vice President for Research and Regional Initiatives at the Atlantic Council as well as Director of the Council’s Africa Centre. Earlier in his career, he was a tenured professor of justice studies, political science, and Africana studies at James Madison University.
He currently also serves as a Non-Executive Director of Africell Global Holdings and of Rainbow Rare Earths as well as a strategic advisor to several other companies, with a particular focus on managing geopolitical risk and developing business in Africa. In 2022, he was elected a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy.
