Robert Porter Jackson (born 1956 in Paris,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

) is a retired American

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He was a career member of the

Senior Foreign Service The Senior Foreign Service (SFS) comprises the top four ranks of the United States Foreign Service. These ranks were created by the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and Executive Order 12293 in order to provide the Foreign Service with senior grades equ ...

with the rank of

Minister-Counselor Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...

Education

He received his B.A. from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

, his M.A. from

The George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

Elliott School of International Affairs The Elliott School of International Affairs (known as the Elliott School or ESIA) is the professional school of international relations, foreign policy, and international development of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. It i ...

and his M.S. from

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

Career

After earning his B.A., Jackson taught English and American Civilization at the University of Clermont II in Clermont-Ferrand, France. He worked briefly for the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Internal Revenue Service before becoming an English teacher at Institut Montana in Zugerberg, Switzerland. Jackson began his Foreign Service career in 1982, serving as a Consular and Economic Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Montreal, Canada. In 1985, he transferred to the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura, Burundi, where he developed a lifelong passion for Africa. He was a career member of the

with the rank of

. From 2016 to 2018 he was United States Ambassador to Ghana. From 2013 to 2015 he was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. He was also the United States Ambassador to Cameroon, where he helped to double U.S. exports and promoted entrepreneurship and biodiversity. Prior to that he was Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires, a.i., at the U.S. Embassies in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. Mr. Jackson has also served as Director of the Office for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy; Coordinator of the Entry-Level Officer Training Program; and Country Officer for Botswana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. His other overseas postings include Côte d'Ivoire, Portugal and Zimbabwe.

Notes

External links

U.S. Embassy Yaoundé: Ambassador’s biography
, - Ambassadors of the United States to Cameroon Ambassadors of the United States to Ghana Bowdoin College alumni Elliott School of International Affairs alumni Living people National Defense University alumni People from Tennessee United States Foreign Service personnel 1956 births {{US-diplomat-stub