Harry Keels Thomas Jr. (born June 3, 1956) is an American diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Zimbabwe.
Career
Thomas joined the Foreign Service in 1984. His early postings included service in the
US embassies in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
;
Harare
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
,
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
;
Kaduna
Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
; and
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
.
He also served as
Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State
The Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State is the Director of the Executive Secretariat. The position holds a rank equivalent to an Assistant Secretary. Each Executive Secretary is appointed by the Secretary of State.
Th ...
, Director General of the
U.S. Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...
, Director of the
State Department Operations Center, and Special Assistant to the then-
U.S. Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...
.
Thomas served as
United States Ambassador to Bangladesh
The United States ambassador to Bangladesh is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Bangladesh. President Joe Biden nominated career diplomat and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Economic ...
(serving from 2003 to 2005) and Director General of the
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...
(serving from 2007 to 2009), Thomas was designated by US President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
on November 19, 2009, to replace
Kristie Kenney
Kristie Anne Kenney is a former senior U.S. diplomat who served as the 32nd Counselor of the United States Department of State from 2016 to 2017. She is a recipient of the Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award and held the nation's h ...
as Ambassador to the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
—the first
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
to serve at that post.
He was confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on March 19, 2010,
and presented his credentials to Philippine president
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...
on April 27, 2010. He was then nominated and confirmed as the
United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe
The first United States ambassador to Zimbabwe was appointed on May 23, 1980, after the Republic of Zimbabwe replaced the previous white-minority government of Rhodesia, and its successor Zimbabwe-Rhodesia (1979–1980).
The Republic of Zimbabwe ...
on October 22, 2015. He was sworn in on December 8, 2015. He returned to the United States from Zimbabwe on March 25, 2018, planning to retire from the Foreign Service.
Education
Thomas is a graduate of the
College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...
and earned his Master's of Science in Urban Planning at
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 ...
. He also has an honorary doctorate from
Loyola University Maryland
Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in the ...
, where he delivered the
commencement address
A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions and in similar institutions around the world.
The commencement ...
in May 2010.
Controversy
In September 2011, Thomas sparked outrage – while in post as Ambassador to the Philippines – by making the remark that "40% of male tourists to the Philippines go there for sex tourism", without publicly presenting evidence for this remark.
He subsequently made a public apology to the
Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA; fil, Kagawaran ng Ugnayang Panlabas) is the executive department of the Philippine government tasked to contribute to the enhancement of national security, protection of the territorial integrity and na ...
.
Foreign languages
Thomas speaks
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
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 ...
,
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
,
Tagalog, and
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
.
Awards and honours
Foreign honours
*:
**
Grand Cross ''(Datu)'' of the
Order of Sikatuna
The Order of Sikatuna ( fil, Orden ng Sikatuna) is the national order of diplomatic merit of the Republic of the Philippines. It is conferred upon individuals who have rendered exceptional and meritorious services to the Republic of the Philipp ...
(GrCS) (October 14, 2013)
References
External links
*
*
US Department of State biography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Harry K. Jr
1956 births
Living people
Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni
College of the Holy Cross alumni
United States Foreign Service personnel
African-American diplomats
Ambassadors of the United States to Bangladesh
Ambassadors of the United States to the Philippines
Ambassadors of the United States to Zimbabwe
Directors General of the United States Foreign Service
21st-century African-American people
21st-century American diplomats
20th-century African-American people