Todd Crawford Chapman (born 1962) is an American career diplomat who has served as the

United States Ambassador to Brazil The following is a list of ambassadors of the United States, or other head of mission, chiefs of mission, to Brazil. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipot ...

and the

United States Ambassador to Ecuador The following is a list of ambassadors of the United States, or other chiefs of mission, to Ecuador. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently ''Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.'' A ...

. As a career

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...

officer, Chapman joined the State Department in 1990 and became a Minister Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service. He has held many positions within the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

, including as Ambassador to Ecuador from 2016 to 2019 and Ambassador to Brazil from 2020 to 2021. He arrived in Brazil on March 29, 2020, and presented his credentials to the President of Brazil the following day. He retired from the foreign service in July 2021.

Early life and education

Chapman was born in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. When he was a child, he moved with his family to

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Brazil. Chapman lived in Brazil through secondary school, graduating from Escola Maria Imaculada. Chapman earned an A.B. in history from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

and a Master of Science in Strategic Intelligence from the

Joint Military Intelligence College The National Intelligence University (NIU), formerly known as the Defense Intelligence School, the Defense Intelligence College, the Joint Military Intelligence College, and the National Defense Intelligence College is a federally chartered resea ...

in 2000.

Career

In 2001, Chapman was assigned as an Economic Officer in San Jose, Costa Rica. In 2004, he was appointed Political/Economic/Commercial Counselor at the embassy in

La Paz, Bolivia La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bol ...

. In 2006 he served as executive assistant in the

Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs In the United States government, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA) is a part of the U.S. Department of State, charged with implementing U.S. foreign policy and promoting U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere, as well as advising ...

, and in 2007 he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Maputo, Mozambique. He served as Senior Diplomatic Coordinator for Economic Affairs in Kabul, Afghanistan, from 2010 to 2011. In 2011, he was assigned as Deputy Chief of Mission to Brasília, Brazil. In 2015 Chapman was appointed

by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Chapman presented his credentials as

on April 14, 2016, and served until June 8, 2019. On October 30, 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 Chapman to become

. On February 11, 2020, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

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 ...

. Some observers criticized Chapman for appearing to take a friendly stance toward Brazilian president

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...

. In June 2021, citing personal reasons, Chapman announced his intention to retire and to spend the next thirty days continuing to strengthen relations between the United States and Brazil. On June 9, 2021, Todd Chapman communicated to US President Joe Biden his request for retirement from the State Department service for personal reasons, ending a career spanning three decades. He officially left his post and retired on July 23, 2021.

Postings

(2016 to 2019) * Washington D.C., Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs (2014) * Brasília, Brazil, Deputy Chief of Mission (2011) * Kabul, Afghanistan, Senior Diplomatic Coordinator for Economic Affairs, U.S. Embassy Kabul (2010 to 2011) * Maputo, Mozambique, Deputy Chief of Mission (2007) * Washington D.C., Executive Assistant,

(2006) * La Paz, Bolivia, Political/Economic/Commercial Counselor * San Jose, Costa Rica, Economic Officer (2001) * Abuja, Nigeria, Energy Officer (1997) * Maputo, Mozambique, Economic/Commercial officer (1993) * Taipei, Taiwan, Consular Officer at

American Institute in Taiwan The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT; ) is the ''de facto'' Embassy of the United States of America in Taiwan. The AIT institution is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the federal government of the United States in Taiwan with Congressional oversi ...

(1991)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Todd C. 1962 births Living people People from Houston Duke University alumni United States Foreign Service personnel National Intelligence University alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Ecuador People of the American Institute in Taiwan Ambassadors of the United States to Brazil 21st-century American diplomats

Early life and education

Career

Postings

See also

References