James David McGee (born 1949) is an American diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe,

Swaziland Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, and the Comoros.

Early life

McGee was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

in 1968 and in 1969, he attended the

Defense Language Institute The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other f ...

in Monterey, California to learn Vietnamese. He served with the 6994th Security Squadron flying aboard EC-47 aircraft in Vietnam during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, earning three Distinguished Flying Crosses. He left the Air Force in 1974. He graduated from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

with a bachelor's degree in political science in 1977. He is married to Shirley Jean French McGee.Former Ambassador's to The Kingdom of Swaziland, James D. McGee
U.S. Embassy to

Foreign service

He previously served as the third Secretary and Vice Consul at the American Embassy in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

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 ...

from 1982 to 1984, Administrative Officer at the American Consulate General in Lahore,

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 ...

from 1984 to 1986, Second Secretary and Supervisory General Services Officer at the American Embassy in The Hague,

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from 1986 to 1989, Administrative Officer at the American Consulate General in Bombay,

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 ...

from 1989 to 1991,

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

's Special Assistant in the Bureau of Finance and Management Policy from 1991 to 1992, Administrative Counselor in

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

from 1992 to 1995, Administrative Counselor at the American Embassy in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

from 1995 to 1998, Administrative Counselor in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

from 1998 to 2001, and ambassador to

from 2002 to 2004. McGee became the U.S. ambassador to

on October 24, 2004, and took on the additional role of ambassador to the Comoros on March 5, 2006.Zimbabwe: Dell replacement announced
July 26, 2007. AllAfrica.
July 25, 2007. New Zimbabwe. McGee was confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in October 2007 and succeeded

Christopher Dell Christopher William Dell (born 1956) is a career United States Foreign Service officer who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Angola, Zimbabwe, and Kosovo. Early life and education Born in Hackensack, New Jersey, Dell moved with his family to Ho ...

as U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe, serving in that position from 2007 to 2009. James McGee was threatened with expulsion from Zimbabwe by the president, Robert Mugabe, after McGee had told the press of politically inspired attacks by Mugabe's government against political activists in anticipation of the run-off election between Mugabe and his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai.

References

External links

Amb. McGee's Dept of State Bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, James D. 1949 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Madagascar Ambassadors of the United States to the Comoros Ambassadors of the United States to Eswatini Ambassadors of the United States to Zimbabwe Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Indiana University alumni United States Air Force airmen United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War African-American diplomats American expatriates in Nigeria American expatriates in Pakistan American expatriates in the Netherlands American expatriates in India American expatriates in Jamaica American expatriates in Ivory Coast Diplomats from Chicago United States Foreign Service personnel 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century American diplomats