Daniel Lewis Foote is an American diplomat and career member of the

Senior Foreign Service The Senior Foreign Service (SFS) comprises the top four ranks of the United States Foreign Service. These ranks were created by the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and Executive Order 12293 in order to provide the Foreign Service with senior grades equ ...

who was the

United States Special Envoy for Haiti The United States special envoy for Haiti is a diplomatic position within the United States Department of State created after the assassination of Jovenel Moïse. The special envoy coordinates efforts between Haiti and the United States to prom ...

from July to September 2021. He formerly served as the

United States Ambassador to Zambia The history of ambassadors of the United States to Zambia began in 1964. Until 1964 Zambia had been a colony of the British Empire, first as Northern Rhodesia and then as a part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. On December 31, 1963, ...

Early life and education

A native of

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, Foote graduated from

Williamsville East High School Williamsville East High School is one of the three high schools located in the Williamsville Central School District in Williamsville, New York. The other two high schools in the district are Williamsville North High School and Williamsville Sou ...

in 1981. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he was a member of the school's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

teams and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics.

Career

Foote began his career as a natural gas trader and broker. In 1992, he became a

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

volunteer in Sopachuy,

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. He later taught high school Spanish and coached football and track in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. In 1998, Foote joined the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

. He held positions at the State Department Operations Center, in the

Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs In the United States Government, the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR) is part of the United States Department of State, charged with implementing U.S. foreign policy and promoting U.S. interests in Europe and Eurasia (which it defin ...

, at the U.S. Embassy in London, and in the U.S. consulate in

Guadalajara, Mexico Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaja ...

. He was part of the reconstruction team in

Erbil, Iraq Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000. Hu ...

, was a management officer and political/economic chief in the U.S. Embassy in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, and was a management counselor at the U.S. Embassy in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. Foote also completed postings at the

U.S. Embassy in Baghdad The Embassy of the United States of America in Baghdad is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America in the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. Ambassador Alina Romanowski is currently the Head of mission, Chief of Mission. At , it is the lar ...

and as leader of the provincial reconstruction team in the

Maysan Governorate , image_map = Maysan in Iraq.svg , mapsize = 200px , settlement_type = Governorate , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_t ...

. He went on to lead the activities of the

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is an agency that reports to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights within the Department of State. Under the umbrella of its general mis ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. He was posted in both

Port-au-Prince, Haiti Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

, and

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

, as deputy chief of mission. In the Dominican Republic, he also served as

chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

. At the U.S. Embassy in

Kabul, Afghanistan Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, Foote served as coordinating director, managing U.S. civilian foreign assistance and law enforcement activities in the country. In 2015, he took a role in Washington, D.C., at the

, where he oversaw operations in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. In 2017, he was the Acting

Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is a position of the United States government within the Department of State that heads the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs ...

when he was appointed

. As ambassador to Zambia, Foote strongly condemned the conviction of two men who had allegedly been convicted for having consensual sex acts. Foote said he was horrified by the verdict and questioned the destination of the development and economic aid given to Zambia. He was subsequently declared ''

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: ') is a status applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection of diplomatic immunity from arrest and other types of prosecution. Diplomacy Under Article 9 of the ...

'' and left the country. After the

assassination of Jovenel Moïse Jovenel Moïse, the president of Haiti, was assassinated on 7 July 2021 at 1 a.m. EDT (UTC−04:00) at his residence. A group of 28 foreign mercenaries, mostly Colombians, are alleged to be responsible for the killing. First Lady Marti ...

, Foote was selected to serve as

United States special envoy for Haiti The United States special envoy for Haiti is a diplomatic position within the United States Department of State created after the assassination of Jovenel Moïse. The special envoy coordinates efforts between Haiti and the United States to prom ...

in the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...

on July 22, 2021. In the role, Foote was a member of President Joe Biden's delegation to Moïse's funeral. On September 23, 2021, Foote resigned from his post of Special Envoy, effective immediately, citing the manner in which the United States had been handling the influx of Haitians who were fleeing their country's political unrest and natural disasters. In his resignation letter, Foote criticized the Biden Administration, writing "I will not be associated with the United States' inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti, a country where American officials are confined to secure compounds because of the danger posed by armed gangs in control of daily life". Foote also stated that the United States had ignored and dismissed his recommendations regarding U.S. policy in Haiti.

Personal life

Foote speaks

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

References

External links

Biography at U.S. Department of State
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foote, Daniel Lewis Living people People from Syracuse, New York Columbia College (New York) alumni Trump administration personnel Biden administration personnel Ambassadors of the United States to Zambia United States Foreign Service personnel 21st-century American diplomats United States Special Envoys Year of birth missing (living people)