Mark C. Minton (born 1944) is career member (retired) of the United States Foreign Service and served as the U.S. Ambassador to

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

from 2006 to 2009. He was formerly president of the

Korea Society Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

from 2010 to 2015 and then joined the faculty of the School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University Bloomington.

Career

Minton began his 32-year Foreign Service career as a Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in 1977. He served on the Policy Planning Staff in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, followed by an assignment with the Office of

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Affairs. In 1984, he became the Consul General in

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He has served in subsequent assignments with the Department of State's Executive Secretariat, as a Pearson Fellow with the United States Senate, and as deputy director, Japanese affairs, at the

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 nati ...

. In 1992, Minton became the minister-counselor for political affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, after which he returned to Washington as the director of Korean affairs. In 1998, he was appointed minister-counselor for political affairs at the U.S. Mission to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, followed by a year as diplomat-in-residence at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

. Before becoming ambassador to

, Minton was deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...

. During his assignment in Seoul, he acted for over six months as chargé d'affaires ad interim. In May 2010, Minton succeeded Evans J.R. Revere to become president of the Korea Society. In 2015, Minton joined the school of global and international studies at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

where he lectured on East Asian studies and diplomacy. Minton graduated from

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 ...

with a B.A. in literature in 1967 and received his master's degree in history from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. He speaks Japanese and Korean. He also is a veteran of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, having served for three years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minton, Mark C Ambassadors of the United States to Mongolia Yale University alumni Living people 1944 births United States Foreign Service personnel Columbia College (New York) alumni