William H. Twaddell (born 1941) is a retired American diplomat and former journalist for the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

''. Twaddell ended his extensive career as

United States Ambassador to Nigeria The following is a list of United States ambassadors to Nigeria. Ambassadors Notes See also * Nigeria – United States relations *Foreign relations of Nigeria *Ambassadors of the United States ReferencesUnited States Department of State: B ...

, where he served from 1997 to 2000. Prior to this, Twaddell served as Ambassador to Mauritania from 1988 to 1991, as the ''de facto'' Ambassador to Liberia from 1992 to 1995, and as Chargé d'Affaires ''ad interim'' to

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

from 1980 to 1983. In addition to his diplomatic career, Twaddell served as interim CEO of Dorcas International Institute.

Early life and education

Twaddell was born in 1941 in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. A resident of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, he graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1963 and was a member of the Board of Trustees. After stints in the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

and the Army, Twaddell became a D.C.-based reporter for the ''

''.

Diplomatic career

Twaddell joined the Foreign Service in 1969, and was first assigned to Dhahran,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

as a Vice Consul. After returning to Washington, D.C., Twaddell became a petroleum analyst, and eventually joined the

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

's Executive Secretariat. During the

Carter Administration Jimmy Carter's tenure as the 39th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. A Democrat from Georgia, Carter took office after defeating incumbent Republican President ...

, Twaddell served as a special assistant to Secretary of State

Cyrus Vance Cyrus Roberts Vance Sr. (March 27, 1917January 12, 2002) was an American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980. Prior to serving in that position, he was the United States Deputy Secretary of ...

. Twaddell served as Chargé d'Affaires ''ad interim'' to

from 1980 to 1983. In 1988, he became Ambassador to Mauritania, serving from 1988 to 1991. From 1992 to 1995, Twaddell served as the United States' "chief of mission" to

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

. In this position, he was the ''de facto'' U.S. ambassador to the country, given the lack of formal relations between the United States and the Liberian national government at the time. Two months after he arrived, 500 West African peacekeepers were kidnapped by rebel forces in 1992. He worked with former President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

to have the hostages released. In 1997, he became

, a position he held until 2000.

Personal life

Twaddell married artist Susan L. Hardy in an August 1989. In addition to

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, Twaddell speaks

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

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 ...

, Portuguese, and Spanish.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twaddell, William People from Madison, Wisconsin People from Providence, Rhode Island American chief executives Brown University alumni American male journalists American newspaper reporters and correspondents Ambassadors of the United States to Nigeria Ambassadors of the United States to Mauritania Ambassadors of the United States to Liberia Ambassadors of the United States to Mozambique 1941 births Living people 20th-century American diplomats