Dror Shalom
- Resident Senior Fellow
Brigadier General (Res.) Dror Shalom is a resident senior fellow with the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Middle East programs. He is a national security expert with thirty-five years of leadership experience spanning intelligence, defense strategy, regional policy, and international political-military coordination.
From 2022 to March 2026, Shalom served as head of the Policy & Political-Military Bureau at the Israeli Ministry of Defense, serving under three ministers of defense as the senior authority on international security and defense diplomacy. In this role, he acted as a primary liaison to Washington on sensitive strategic issues and qualitative military edge protections while expanding regional defense ties under the Abraham Accords and across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Prior to this, Shalom commanded the Research and Analysis Division in Israeli Defense Intelligence from 2016 to 2020, leading national assessments on Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestinian affairs for the government and security cabinet. He spearheaded the integration of advanced analytical technologies into intelligence operations, founded the National Intelligence and Data Center, and established pioneering programs to recruit neurodiverse personnel into research units. Upon completing his active military service, he received a commendation from the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff.
Shalom holds an executive MBA and a BA in Middle Eastern studies and Israeli history from Tel Aviv University, as well as an LLB from Reichman University.