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, where he was director of the Nelson Institute for International and Public Affairs. From 2008-2017, he was concurrently Vice President of the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) and Editor-in-Chief of ASMEA’s peer-reviewed quarterly Journal of the Middle East and Africa. He is the author of several books and more than 350 articles, essays and reviews on African politics, security, and economic issues.
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. Pham is the recipient of numerous state honors and awards from African countries in recognition of contributions made over the course of his career to strengthening relations between the United States and Africa. In 2022, he was elected a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy.