Mark David Wallace (born December 31, 1967) is an American businessman, former diplomat, and lawyer who has served in a variety of government, political, and private sector posts.
[4] He was married to Nicolle Wallace, a political commentator who served as President George W. Bush's communications director and as senior advisor to Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential bid.
[15] The Wall Street Journal wrote that the finding of the Cash for Kim investigation "vindicates" Wallace, "who led the charge for transparency at UNDP.
[19] Upon his departure from the U.S. State Department, The Wall Street Journal editorial board compared Wallace to a list of "distinguished" Americans who tried to make the United Nations live up to its original ideals including Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Jeane Kirkpatrick and John Bolton.
[20] The opinion piece noted that although Wallace was unpopular with some officials who didn't want to risk their engagement with North Korea over corruption, "he's the one who had it right.
In that role, he led the debate preparation team for Senator McCain's running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
[42] In August 2013, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described UANI as "the biggest active lobby against Iran.
[44] Since its founding, Wallace has led UANI in launching campaigns warning more than 1,000 companies of their Iran business ties,[45] following which, dozens of multinational firms such as General Electric,[46] Huntsman,[47] Caterpillar,[48] Ingersoll Rand,[49] Porsche, Hyundai,[50] Fiat,[51] Royal Dutch Shell,[52] Terex[53] and Siemens[54] ended their business dealings in Iran.
The decision by Huawei and the role of UANI was prominently featured in the news media including The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times[55] and Reuters.
[60] Wallace and UANI have authored and supported a variety of federal and state legislative and regulatory initiatives designed to enhance Iran's economic isolation.
"[71] In June 2016, UANI released an open letter signed by high-ranking former government officials and policy experts calling on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to keep Iran on its blacklist and "maintain and strengthen counter-measures against Iran" as a threat to the integrity of the international financial system for its rampant money laundering and terrorism financing activities.
The event featured prominent Middle Eastern officials including UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba, Israeli lawmaker and former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and Bahraini diplomat and former President of the United Nations General Assembly Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa.
He added, "If President Putin is serious about stabilizing the Middle East, confronting terrorism & preventing a nuclear arms race in the region, he should stand with UANI & against Iran.
[77] In May 2013, UANI publicly called on a Greek shipping concern and its owner to end their purported business relationships with the Iranian regime.
The organization is led by Wallace and a team of former world leaders and former diplomats, including Frances Townsend and Senator Joseph Lieberman.
[87][88] CEP aims to combat extremism by pressuring financial support networks, countering the narrative of extremists and their online recruitment, and advocating for strong laws, policies and regulation.
[89] The group produces research, having conducted a comprehensive survey on the public's attitudes and knowledge of extremism in order to ensure measurable results of its projects and campaigns.
In an attempt to curb extremist online-activity, ranging from incitement of violence to recruitment of youth, the group has petitioned Twitter to take down jihadist accounts.
[91] In June 2016, CEP unveiled its "eGlyph" software tool for use by Internet and social media companies to "quickly find and eliminate extremist content used to spread and incite violence and attacks."
eGLYPH functions similarly to PhotoDNA, a system that uses robust hashing technology Farid worked on developing with Microsoft, which is "now widely used by Internet companies to stop the spread of content showing sexual exploitation or pornography involving children."
This development was covered widely in the international press, including by The Washington Post,[92] The Atlantic,[93] Foreign Policy,[94] Bloomberg,[95] Reuters,[96] and AFP.
"[92][98] Wallace stated that if this system were to be adopted by social media companies and the private sector, it "would go a long way to making sure that online extremism is no longer pervasive.
Through our expertise, we were able to minimize the risk involved, resolve litigation, and reunite the patchwork and fractured ownership interests that inhibited the mine and limited its value over the last decade.
"[103] In 2011, Sunshine Silver Mines filed its S1 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission describing its intention to go public on the NYSE and TSX.
[104] Wallace's work with Electrum has included leading its investment and operational entry into the Polish mineral sector through Śląsko Krakowska Kompania Górnictwa Metali Sp.
In the same article, Wallace stated that gold, due to the uncertain business environment, has "practically become a currency again," and that the Group's belief that supply and demand fundamentals would continue to be the key economic driver for copper, silver and other metals.
[106] Wallace has also attempted to secure the necessary regulatory approvals and community support for Electrum's efforts to explore its Paramount mine claims in eastern California's Bodie Wilderness Study Area.
[112] The artist on the project, Alireza Shojaian, used traditional images from ancient Persian literature to challenge the contemporary mistreatment of the LGBTQ+ community in Iran.
[122] Calls for Action against the organization were posted on message boards by individuals aligned with the Grey Wolves, a far-right group associated with President Erdoğan.
In addition to the attack, American and Turkish citizens associated with TDP were targeted with unlawful methods of intimidation through threatening communications online, including death threats.