Benjamin Ziff Takes Charge: New US Diplomat Arrives in Morocco

Marrakech – The US Embassy in Rabat has announced the appointment of Benjamin Ziff as its new Chargé d’Affaires, filling the diplomatic vacancy that precedes the arrival of the new ambassador, Richard Duke Buchan III.

“Meet the incoming Chargé d’Affaires to the U.S. Mission in Morocco, Benjamin Ziff. Help us welcome him by suggesting where in Morocco he should visit first!” the US Embassy posted on its Facebook page, alongside a photo of the newly appointed diplomat.

On its X account, the embassy stated, “Deputy Chief of Mission Benjamin Ziff arrived in Morocco on August 28, 2025, and assumed the role of Chargé d’Affaires to the U.S. Mission in Morocco.”

Ziff succeeds Aimee Cutrona and will temporarily lead the US diplomatic mission in Morocco until the official appointment of the new ambassador, Duke Buchan, is completed. The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved President Donald Trump’s nomination of Buchan on July 29.

Trump nominated Buchan in March, but the procedure preceding his assumption of duties remains incomplete. After arriving in Rabat, Buchan will present his credentials to Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita, then await a royal reception to officially begin his duties.

Who is Benjamin Ziff?

According to information available on the US State Department’s official website, Benjamin Ziff previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. In this role, he was responsible for relations with Nordic and Baltic countries and managed the European Public Diplomacy portfolio.

Before this position, Ziff served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Bogota, Colombia. He joined the Foreign Service in 1988 and worked in public diplomacy positions in Australia, Israel, Panama, and Peru early in his career.

After spending a year at the National War College in Washington, DC, Ziff served as Deputy Director of the Office of Central American Affairs in the Western Hemisphere Bureau. He then took on a series of senior public diplomacy positions successively in Venezuela, Italy, Iraq, Colombia, and Spain.

Born in California, Ziff earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from California State University at Long Beach, a Master’s from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a Master’s in National Security Studies from the National War College. He received the State Department’s Murrow Award for Public Diplomacy and speaks Spanish, Hebrew, and Italian.

Ziff also previously served as Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Cuba, officially taking office in July 2022, succeeding Timothy Zúñiga-Brown. He concluded his mission in Havana in October 2024.

Ambassador nominee Buchan’s vision

During his confirmation hearing on July 29, Buchan committed to facilitating negotiations toward a peaceful solution for the Western Sahara dispute.

“I’ve been traveling to Morocco for over 40 years. It’s a beautiful, fascinating, and strategic country,” Buchan said during the hearing.

The nominee referenced Secretary Marco Rubio’s April statement reiterating US recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara. “If confirmed, I will facilitate progress towards this goal,” he said, noting the importance of strategic ties between Morocco and the US.

Buchan mentioned King Mohammed VI’s leadership, calling him a “valued leader and a friend of the United States.”

“If confirmed, my highest priority will be the safety and security of American citizens in Morocco, including our fantastic American and local team at the US Embassy in Rabat and the US Consulate in Casablanca,” he added.

The special US-Morocco relationship

From the very beginning of the American story, Morocco has been a singular partner. In December 1777, Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah opened Moroccan ports to American ships – widely recognized as the first public recognition of US independence – then sealed the relationship with the 1786 Moroccan-American Treaty of Peace and Friendship, the oldest unbroken treaty in US history.

In 1821, Sultan Moulay Slimane gifted the Tangier American Legation – the first U.S. public property abroad, today the only US National Historic Landmark outside America – cementing an early, tangible US presence on Moroccan soil.

The Second World War knit the ties tighter still: the 1943 Casablanca Conference brought President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Morocco and into direct contact with Sultan Mohammed V, an encounter that future King Hassan II often recalled as formative.

The conference itself, held in Anfa, set an allied strategy and gave global visibility to the US-Morocco connection at a pivotal moment.

Independence in 1956 opened a modern chapter of cooperation shaped by geography, strategy, and trust. During the early Cold War, the United States operated Strategic Air Command and support facilities at Sidi Slimane, Ben Guerir (Boulhaut), and Nouasseur (today Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport), before handing them over by 1963 – an arc reflected in State Department historical records that track the bases’ construction, use, and negotiated withdrawal as Morocco asserted sovereign control.

In the decades that followed, Washington and Rabat broadened the agenda from security to institution-building and reform; the partnership was formalized in 2012 with the launch of the US-Morocco Strategic Dialogue, a standing framework that continues to convene cabinet-level officials to this day.

A 2013 White House joint statement with King Mohammed VI captured the spirit: long-term stability through democratic governance, economic opportunity, and regional cooperation.

Security cooperation today is deep and multidomain. Morocco has been a Major Non-NATO Ally since 2004 and hosts African Lion – initiated in 2004 and now the US military’s largest annual exercise on the continent – bringing together tens of countries across land, sea, air, and cyber to train for high-end interoperability.

Defense modernization has included US approvals for F-16V fighters, AH-64E Apache helicopters, and HIMARS rocket systems, alongside steady maritime and precision-strike upgrades.

Counterterrorism collaboration has ranged from close operational coordination to Morocco’s leadership roles in the Global Counterterrorism Forum (co-chairing with Canada from 2019–2022) and UN-backed regional initiatives such as the “Marrakech Platform,” focused on African CT cooperation.

The through-line is practical: joint exercises, capability building, and shared doctrine that make Morocco a linchpin for stability from the Atlantic to the Sahel.

Economically and politically, the relationship is equally distinctive. The US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (in force since January 1, 2006) removed most barriers, spurring two-way trade and investment; by 2023 the United States exported about $3.8 billion in goods to Morocco and imported roughly $3.2 billion, with diversified flows in aviation, agriculture, energy, and services.

Development finance and assistance have complemented trade: two Millennium Challenge Corporation compacts (2007-2013 and 2015-2023) invested in education, land productivity, and workforce skills, while Peace Corps volunteers have served generations of Moroccan communities.

Diplomatically, the December 2020 U.S. proclamation recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara – and the US-Morocco-Israel Joint Declaration signed in Rabat on December 22, 2020 – reframed regional cooperation and have, as of 2025, been reaffirmed by Washington as the standing US position.

Taken together, open markets, sustained development programs, people-to-people exchanges, and convergent regional strategy explain why US-Morocco ties are frequently described – by both capitals – as “special,” rooted in the past and calibrated for today’s strategic realities.