George McDade Staples (born December 7, 1947

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

) was an American Career Foreign Service Officer who served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

(1999-2001), concurrent appointments as Ambassador to

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

and

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

(2001-2004) and

Director General of the Foreign Service The Director General of the Foreign Service is the designated manager of the United States Foreign Service. The Director General is a current or former Foreign Service Officer, appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Uni ...

(May 25, 2006-June 27, 2007), Director of the Bureau of Human Resources at the U.S. Department of State and Political Advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) at NATO in Belgium. He now holds the largely ceremonial rank of Career Minister. When his parents separated, he moved with his mother and sister to Los Angeles and graduated from

Susan Miller Dorsey High School Susan Miller Dorsey High School is a high school located in the Crenshaw, Los Angeles, Crenshaw District of Los Angeles, California. It is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school serves Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, California, ...

. Staples received his B.A. in Political Science from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(Major:Political Science; member of the Air Force ROTC) and an M.A. in Business from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

. He and his wife, Jo Ann Fuson Staples, have one daughter, Catherine and consider their permanent home to be in

Pineville, Kentucky Pineville () is a home rule-class city in Bell County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 1,732 as of the 2010 census. It is located on a small strip of land between the Cumberland River and Pine Mountain ...

References

1947 births Living people Susan Miller Dorsey High School alumni University of Southern California alumni United States Air Force officers Central Michigan University alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Rwanda Ambassadors of the United States to Cameroon Ambassadors of the United States to Equatorial Guinea United States Department of State officials Directors General of the United States Foreign Service {{US-diplomat-stub