The White House has released the names of the members who will form the new “Peace Board” of the Trump administration for Gaza.
Chaired by the U.S. President himself, the board will oversee the work of a committee of Palestinian technocrats tasked with the temporary governance of Gaza and its reconstruction.
According to the White House, each member of the “Peace Board” will be responsible for a portfolio considered “critical to the stabilization of Gaza”, although it has not yet been clarified who will cover which specific priorities, reports the BBC, as cited by Sinjali.
Who are the members of the board?
Former UK Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair had long been mentioned as a potential member of Trump’s Peace Board, and the U.S. president confirmed as early as September that Blair had expressed interest in joining the body.
Blair served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and led Britain into the Iraq War in 2003, a decision that makes his presence on the board controversial for some observers.
After leaving office, he served as Middle East envoy for the international Quartet—the United Nations, European Union, United States, and Russia—from 2007 to 2015.
Sir Tony Blair is the only founding executive board member who is not a U.S. citizen.
He has previously described Trump’s plans for Gaza as “the best opportunity to end two years of war, misery, and suffering.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is a key figure in the Trump administration’s foreign policy approach.
Before Trump’s return to power, Rubio opposed a Gaza ceasefire, stating that he wanted Israel to “destroy every element of Hamas it can reach.” However, he later described the first phase of the Israel–Hamas ceasefire agreement, signed in October, as “the best” and “the only viable plan.”
In October, Rubio also criticized a move by the Israeli parliament toward annexation of the occupied West Bank.
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East, a real estate magnate and Trump’s golfing partner, will also serve on the board.
Earlier this month, Witkoff announced the launch of the second phase of Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war, which includes reconstruction and the full demilitarization of Gaza, including the disarmament of Hamas.
He emphasized that Hamas is expected to “fully comply with its obligations” under the agreement or face “serious consequences.”
Witkoff has also been a central figure in U.S.-led efforts to negotiate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, including a five-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in December.
Jared Kushner, the U.S. president’s son-in-law, has also played a key role in Trump administration foreign policy negotiations.
Alongside Witkoff, Kushner has frequently acted as a U.S. intermediary in the Russia–Ukraine and Israel–Gaza conflicts.
In November, he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss major points of disagreement in the peace deal.
In a 2024 lecture at Harvard University, Kushner stated that “Gaza’s waterfront properties could be very valuable… if people focused on building livelihoods.”
Billionaire Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management, a major New York–based private investment firm, is also a member of the board. Rowan was previously considered a potential U.S. Treasury Secretary during Trump’s second term.
Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank, has advised several senior U.S. politicians, including former President Barack Obama, during his long career.
Born in India in 1959, Banga became a U.S. citizen in 2007 and later served for more than a decade as CEO of Mastercard. He was nominated to lead the World Bank by former U.S. President Joe Biden in 2023.
Robert Gabriel, the U.S. National Security Advisor, will be the final member of the founding executive board.
He has worked with Trump since the 2016 presidential campaign and later became a special assistant to Stephen Miller, another key Trump adviser, according to PBS.
The White House statement also confirmed that Nickolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian politician and former UN Special Envoy for the Middle East, will serve as the board’s on-the-ground representative in Gaza.
Mladenov will oversee a separate 15-member Palestinian technocratic body, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), tasked with managing Gaza’s day-to-day governance after the war.
The NCAG will be led by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank not under Israeli control.
