Richard Boyce Norland (born 1955)
is an American diplomat. He currently serves as the
United States Ambassador to Libya
The United States ambassador to Libya is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Libya.
History
Until its independence in 1951, Libya had been a colony of Italy (1912–1947) and then under Brit ...
.
Career
Ambassador Richard Norland previously served as the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General
Joseph Dunford
Joseph Francis Dunford Jr. (born December 23, 1955) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, who served as the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2015, until September 30, 2019. He was the 36th commandant ...
. Prior to that he served as
U.S. Ambassador to Georgia (2012-2015), Deputy Commandant/International Affairs Advisor at the National War College (2010-2012),
U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan (2007-2010), and Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan (2005-2007) and Riga, Latvia (2003-2005).
From October 2002 through January 2003, Richard Norland served in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan as a diplomat with the U.S. Army Civil Affairs team promoting political and economic reconstruction.
Richard Norland was Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council for two years during the Clinton and Bush administrations, focusing in particular on the Northern Ireland peace process, as well as on the Baltic States, OSCE, and a number of key European partners. He served as Political Counselor at the American Embassy in Dublin, Ireland from 1995 through the negotiation of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Richard Norland served from 1988 to 1990 as Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, USSR during President Gorbachev's tenure and the period of glasnost and perestroika. He was subsequently detailed to the Pentagon's Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he worked on policy issues following the break-up of the Soviet Union. He served in 1993 as the U.S. representative and acting mission head on the CSCE Mission to Georgia, addressing conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and later visited Chechnya in a similar capacity.
Earlier in his career, Richard Norland served in the United States' northernmost diplomatic office, 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle, as Chief of the U.S. Information Office in Tromsø, Norway. He later served as Senior Arctic Official coordinating the U.S. chairmanship of the Arctic Council. He was also a Special Assistant (for African affairs) to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. He served as Norway-Denmark desk officer, and as assistant desk officer for South Africa. His first tour was in Manama, Bahrain.
United States Ambassador to Libya
On April 2, 2019, President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
nominated Richard Norland to be the
United States Ambassador to Libya
The United States ambassador to Libya is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Libya.
History
Until its independence in 1951, Libya had been a colony of Italy (1912–1947) and then under Brit ...
.
On August 1, 2019, 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 ...
confirmed his nomination by
voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
.
He assumed office on August 8, 2019.
Personal life
The son of an American diplomat, Ambassador Norland was born in Morocco and grew up in Africa and Europe as well as the United States. Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 1980, Ambassador Norland worked as a legislative analyst in the Iowa House of Representatives. He graduated from
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 ...
's School of Foreign Service in 1977. He has master's degrees from the
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
School of Advanced International Studies
The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of the ...
and the National War College. He speaks
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
*Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
*Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including the ...
. He and his wife, Mary Hartnett, have two children.
See also
*
United States Ambassador to Georgia
This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Georgia.
The United States recognized Georgia's independence on December 25, 1991, and established diplomatic relations March 29, 1993.
The U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi was established April 23, 1 ...
*
Georgia–United States relations
Relations between the countries of Georgia and the United States continue to be very close and encompass multiple areas of bilateral cooperation. One of the key U.S. allies in Eastern Europe, Georgia was the third largest troop contributor i ...
References
External links
* https://www.jcs.mil/Leadership/Article-View/Article/1019954/ambassador-richard-b-norland/
* https://isd.georgetown.edu/norland
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norland, Richard Boyce
1955 births
Living people
Ambassadors of the United States to Georgia (country)
Ambassadors of the United States to Libya
Ambassadors of the United States to Uzbekistan
American expatriates in Norway
Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni
National War College alumni
Naval War College alumni
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni
United States Foreign Service personnel
21st-century American diplomats