William Alan Eaton is an American

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 Assistant Secretary of State for Administration and United States Ambassador to Panama.

Biography

Eaton was born in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

in 1952. He earned a B.A. in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1978. After college, he joined 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 ...

, serving mainly in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Eaton then joined the

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 ...

, beginning a career as a

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 ...

. He was posted at Georgetown,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. Eaton is fluent in Spanish,

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

, Russian, Dutch and Italian. As a political officer in

Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is t ...

, Eaton represented the United States in negotiations. He also led successful negotiations between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

to establish centers for former weapons scientists. 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, ...

, Eaton worked in the Office the Assistant Secretary of State for Administration, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security, the Office of the

Under Secretary of State for Management The Under Secretary of State for Management is a position within the United States Department of State that serves as principal adviser to the Secretary of State and Deputy Secretary of State on matters relating to the allocation and use of Depar ...

, and the Office of the

United States Deputy Secretary of State The deputy secretary of state of the United States is the principal deputy to the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state. The current deputy secretary of state is Wendy Ruth Sherman, serving since April 2021 under United States Secre ...

. In September 1998, Eaton took a three-year hiatus in his diplomatic career, serving as executive director of the

Young Presidents' Organization YPO (formerly Young Presidents' Organization) is an American-based worldwide leadership community of chief executives with approximately 29,000 members in more than 130 countries, according to the organization's 2019 YPO international fact sheet. ...

. In 2001,

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

nominated Eaton as Assistant Secretary of State for Administration; Eaton held this office from July 13, 2001, until May 25, 2005. Bush then named Eaton United States Ambassador to Panama, serving from September 9, 2005, to July 5, 2008. In 2008, he became Dean of the School of Language Studies at the

National Foreign Affairs Training Center The George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center (NFATC) is one of several locations that house the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), the United States government's training school for members of the U.S. foreign affairs community. ...

. In 2010, Eaton was selected by the Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to be the Assistant Secretary General for Executive Management of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. In 2013 left his position at NATO to become Vice Chairman of the Board of AFS-USA, Inc. In 2015 he was appointed chairman of the Board of this organization.
About AFS - AFS-USA Board of Directors

Awards

Eaton is a recipient of the 2004 Presidential Distinguished Service Award, The State Department's Arnold Raphel Award for Mentoring, 2001 Presidential Meritorious Service Award, 2004 Honorary National Distinguished Principal Award for leadership in international education and the State Department's Leamon R. Hunt Award for Administrative Excellence.

External links

*
Profile from U.S. Embassy in Panama

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, William A. Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Panama United States Assistant Secretaries of State 1952 births United States Foreign Service personnel