John Francis Maisto (born August 28, 1938,
Braddock, Pennsylvania) is a retired U.S. career
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
, who rose from
Foreign Service Officer
A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...
to eventually serve as a
U.S. Ambassador
Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the President of the United States, president to serve as the country's diplomat, diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as Ambassador-at-large, ...
in a number of postings.
Early life and career progress
Maisto earned his BS from the
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
, then earned his MA at the
University of San Carlos
The University of San Carlos, also referred to by its acronym USC or colloquially shortened to San Carlos, is a private, Catholic, research, coeducational basic and higher education institution administered by the Philippine Southern Province ...
, Guatemala. After graduation, Maisto 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 ...
as a
Foreign Service Officer
A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U ...
in 1968.
Early postings included working with the State Department's
Information Agency in Argentina and Bolivia. He was later posted to positions at the US Embassies in the Philippines, Bolivia and Costa Rica. Maisto then served in postings as Director of the State Department’s Office of Philippine Affairs (within the
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs), and then the Deputy Chief of Mission in Panama.
In 1989, Maisto served as the Deputy U.S. Representative to the
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
, then became the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central American Affairs (reporting to the
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs) in 1992.
United States Ambassador
In 1993, Maisto was nominated by
President Bill Clinton to be the
United States Ambassador to Nicaragua, serving in that position until November 1996. In March 1997, Maisto became the
Ambassador to Venezuela, serving in that position until August 2000.
Maisto returned to the United States, and served as a Foreign Policy Advisor for the
United States Southern Command for the next few months. In January 2001, with the inauguration of
President George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, Maisto was brought in as a Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs to
National Secretary Advisor 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 ...
.
In 2003, President Bush nominated Maisto to be the
Ambassador to the Organization of American States, serving until March 2007.
References
Sources
United States Department of State: Biography of John F. Maisto*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maisto, John
1938 births
Living people
Ambassadors of the United States to Nicaragua
Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni
Permanent Representatives of the United States to the Organization of American States
Ambassadors of the United States to Venezuela
United States Foreign Service personnel