Thomas M. Countryman (born 1957) is a 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 served as United States Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation from September 27, 2011 to January 27, 2017.

Biography

Thomas M. Countryman is a graduate of Bellarmine Preparatory School, in Tacoma, Washington, and of Washington University in St. Louis, and studied at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.Archived official State Department biography: "Thomas M. Countryman. Retrieved January 27, 2017 at Internet Archive.
/ref> He joined the United States Department of State in 1982. From 1983 to 1985, he was posted at the U.S. embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He worked in the Department's Office of Eastern European and Yugoslav Affairs 1985–88. He spent 1988 through 1990 studying the Arabic language and Arab culture in the U.S. and Tunisia. He was posted to the U.S. embassy in Cairo during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. From 1991 to 1993, he was the senior officer for reporting on political, security, and religious affairs within Egypt. He spent 1993–94 in the Office of Counterterrorism. From 1994 to 1997 he was the special advisor to

United States Ambassador to the United Nations The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations ...

Madeleine Albright on Middle East affairs and was the U.S. liaison to the United Nations Special Commission. He was at the United States National Security Council 1997-98 as Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs with responsibility for the region stretching from Morocco to

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. In this capacity, he was the White House liaison with the staff of Ambassador Dennis Ross. He spent 1998-99 working at the Senior Seminar. In 1999 through 2000, he was Director of the State Department's Office of South Central European Affairs. He was posted at the Embassy of the United States, Rome from 2001 through 2005 as Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs. He was then briefly Director of the State Department's Office of United Nations Political Affairs. He was Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of the United States, Athens from 2005 to 2008, serving as ''

chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

'' for 5 months in 2007. He was then the Foreign Policy Advisor of General James T. Conway,

Commandant of the Marine Corps The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the secr ...

, from 2008 to 2009. In 2009–10, he was the State Department's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs, and in 2010-11 Deputy Assistant Secretary for European Affairs with responsibility for

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

affairs. In 2011, President of the United States Barack Obama nominated him to be Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation and, after senate confirmation, he was sworn in as Assistant Secretary on September 27, 2011. He is fluent in Serbo-Croatian, Arabic, Italian, Greek, and German. On January 27, 2017, while on his way to a conference on arms control, he was relieved of his duties by President Donald Trump. He joined the board of directors of the nonpartisan Washington-based

Arms Control Association The Arms Control Association is a United States-based nonpartisan membership organization founded in 1971, with the self-stated mission of "promoting public understanding of and support for effective arms control policies." The group publishes th ...

in June 2017, and was elected chair the following October.

External links

Farewell Remarks

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Countryman, Thomas 1957 births Living people United States Assistant Secretaries of State Washington University in St. Louis alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni