Junaid “Jay” Munir began his service as Chargé d’Affaires at the United States Embassy in Cote d’Ivoire in January 2026. He had served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Abidjan since August 2023. Prior to his work in Côte d’Ivoire, he served as the Deputy Chief of Mission for the United States Embassy to Oman and the Deputy Chief of Mission for the United States Embassy to Yemen. He also served as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle East and North Africa. Jay is a member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, and was previously posted to Algeria, France, Pakistan, Syria, Tunisia, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, working to advance U.S. national interests and serving the American people. He began his career as a lawyer, clerking for a federal judge in the U.S. Southern District of Florida and working for the law firms of Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, D.C. and Greenberg Traurig in Miami, Florida. Munir, a Grand Rapids, Michigan native, graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University, majoring in political science, and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School. He speaks French, Arabic, and Urdu. He and his wife have a son, Karim.