US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack will also serve as special envoy to Syria
Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said on Friday he has assumed the role of special envoy to Syria, as the
Trump
administration moves to lift sanctions on the country.
Barrack said in a post on X that he would support U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in removing U.S. sanctions on Syria after President Donald Trump made a landmark announcement earlier this month that Washington would unwind the measures.
'As President Trump's representative in Türkiye, I am proud to assume the role of the U.S. Special Envoy for Syria and support Secretary Rubio in the realization of the President's vision,' Barrack said.
Barrack is a private equity executive who has long advised Trump and chaired his inaugural presidential committee in 2016.
The move suggests U.S. acknowledgement that Turkey has emerged with key regional influence on Damascus since rebels ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in December, ending 14 years of civil war.
Trump met with Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on May 14 and urged him to normalise ties with longtime foe Israel.
Barrack attended a U.S.-Turkish meeting focused on Syria that was held in Washington on Tuesday, where sanctions relief and efforts to counter terrorism were discussed.
Removing U.S. sanctions would clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organisations working in Syria, and ease foreign investment and trade as the country tries to rebuild.
'The cessation of sanctions against Syria will preserve the integrity of our primary objective – the enduring defeat of ISIS – and will give the people of Syria a chance for a better future,' Barrack said in the post on X.
ISIS refers to the Islamic State militant organization.
What we know about Tom Barack
Thomas Joseph Barrack Jr.
(78) Is the founder and executive chairman of
Colony Capital
, a publicly traded
real estate investment trust
(REIT). Barrack has for decades been a close friend of and fundraiser for U.S. President
Donald Trump
, representing him in television news appearances. He was senior advisor to
Trump's 2016 presidential campaign
and served as the chairman of his
Inaugural
Committee.
In December 2024, Barrack was nominated by then President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the
United States ambassador to Turkey
.
Lebanese American
Barrack's grandparents were
Lebanese
who immigrated in 1900 to the United States from the city of
Zahlé
in the Beqaa region of Lebanon Barrack was raised in
Culver City, California
.
In 1969, Barrack earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
University of Southern California
(USC), where he participated on their varsity
rugby
team. He then attended the
USC Gould School of Law
, where he was an editor of the
Southern California Law Review
, before receiving a
Juris Doctor
from the
University of San Diego School of Law
in 1972
His first job was at the law firm of
Herbert W. Kalmbach
, President
Richard Nixon
's personal lawyer.
In 1972, the firm sent him to
Saudi Arabia
, where he soon became the
squash
partner of a Saudi prince. He then worked in the kingdom for the
Fluor Corporation
,
and worked for Saudi princes. Shortly after, he helped open diplomatic relations between
Saudi Arabia
and
Haiti
, then ruled by
Jean-Claude Duvalier
, at the request of investor
Lonnie Dunn
.
In 1982, he served as deputy
undersecretary
of the
United States Department of the Interior
under
James G. Watt
in the
Reagan administration
.
As of September 2011, Barrack was
the 833rd richest person in the world
, and the
375th richest in the United States
, with an estimated wealth of US$1.1 billion.
His company, Colony NorthStar, has reportedly raised billions in investments, with a substantial portion coming from the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia
Barrack has six children and his family lives in California
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