According to the White House, each member of the founding executive council will be assigned a portfolio considered “critical to Gaza’s stabilisation”, although specific responsibilities have not yet been publicly defined. No women have so far been appointed to the body.
Donald Trump
President Donald Trump will chair the founding executive council. The White House says he will play a central role in setting the political direction of the initiative and coordinating with regional and international partners as part of the second phase of the US plan for Gaza.
Tony Blair
Former UK prime minister Sir Tony Blair, who served from 1997 to 2007, is the only non-US citizen on the council. His appointment is seen as controversial because of his close alignment with Washington during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. After leaving office, Blair served as the Quartet’s special envoy to the Middle East — representing the UN, EU, United States and Russia — from 2007 to 2015. He has described Trump’s Gaza plan as “the best chance to end two years of war, misery and suffering”.
Marco Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio joins the council as a key figure in the Trump administration’s foreign policy. Before the ceasefire reached in October, Rubio opposed a truce in Gaza, calling for Israel to destroy Hamas. He has since praised the agreement as the “only viable plan”.
Steve Witkoff
Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, is a real estate magnate and a close associate of Trump. He recently announced the start of the second phase of the US plan for Gaza, which includes reconstruction and the full demilitarisation of the territory, including the disarmament of Hamas, warning of “serious consequences” if the group fails to comply.
Jared Kushner
Trump’s son-in-law and longtime adviser Jared Kushner is also a member of the council. He has played an active role in diplomatic efforts related to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, though he has drawn criticism for past comments highlighting the economic potential of Gaza’s coastline.
Marc Rowan
Billionaire businessman Marc Rowan is the chief executive of Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. He had previously been mentioned as a potential US treasury secretary in a second Trump administration.
Ajay Banga
Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank, is a former CEO of Mastercard and has been a US citizen since 2007. He was nominated to lead the World Bank by former president Joe Biden and joins the council as a key figure in mobilising international financing for Gaza’s reconstruction.
Robert Gabriel
Robert Gabriel, a national security adviser who has worked with Trump since his 2016 presidential campaign, completes the founding executive council. He has longstanding ties to several senior figures in the current administration.
Nickolay Mladenov
Beyond the council itself, the White House confirmed that Nickolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian politician and former UN Middle East envoy, will serve as the council’s representative on the ground in Gaza. He will oversee a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, made up of 15 Palestinian technocrats.
Ali Shaath
The technocratic committee will be led by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority. He will be responsible for the day-to-day governance of Gaza in the post-war period, under international supervision.
The creation of the Peace Council is part of the second phase of the US plan for Gaza, at a time when the ceasefire remains fragile, humanitarian conditions are severe and uncertainty persists over the territory’s political and security future.
