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

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