Bill Stanton Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy

William A. Stanton (

traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

: 司徒文; born 1947) is an American retired career diplomat. Since his retirement from the U.S. Foreign Service in 2012, he has consecutively served as a professor in Taiwan at National Tsinghua University, National Taiwan University, National Yang Ming University which became National Yang Ming Jiao Tung University, and in 2021 as Chair Professor at National Chengchi University.

Early life and education

Born in 1947 to a mother of Armenian descent and a father of Irish and Italian descent, Stanton earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

and an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

from

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

which he attended on a National Defense Education Act Fellowship. He also spent a year studying at Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany.Director of the Taipei Office American Institute in Taiwan
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Career

Dr. Stanton served for 34 years as a U.S. diplomat, serving as consular and political officer at Embassy Beirut (1979-81), watch officer in the Department of State Operations Center (1981-82), staff assistant for the Assistant Secretary for Near East and South Asian Affairs (1982-83), Country Officer for

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

(1983-85), political officer in Embassy Beijing (1987-90), chief of internal political reporting (1989-90), political-military affairs officer in Embassy Islamabad (1991-93), Special Assistant for East Asia and Pacific Affairs for the

Under Secretary for Political Affairs The Under Secretary for Political Affairs is currently the fourth-ranking position in the United States Department of State, after the secretary, the deputy secretary, and the deputy secretary of state for management and resources. The current un ...

(1993-4), Deputy Director for the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs (1994-95), Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the Embassy Beijing (1995-98), Director of the Office of UN Political Affairs (1999-01), Director of the Office of

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

and

North African North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Affairs (2001-03). While stationing at the Embassy Canberra, Australia, he served as the Deputy Chief of Mission (2003-05) and Chargé d’affaires ad interim (2005-06), then he was assigned to Embassy Seoul, Korea to take his post as DCM. His final posting was as Director of the

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 ...

(2009-2012). During his tenure, AIT achieved significant progress on a number of key bilateral issues, including Taiwan's entry into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, two major security assistance agreements, increased high-level visits by U.S. Government officials, and resolution of trade disputes, including the re-introduction of U.S. beef into Taiwan. For his contributions to U.S. exports to Taiwan, Dr. Stanton won the 2011 Charles E. Cobb Award for Initiative and Success in Trade Development. For his overall contributions to U.S.-Taiwan relations, Taiwan awarded Dr. Stanton the Order of the Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon. Dr. Stanton's State Department awards included the Secretary's Career Achievement Award, three Superior Honor Awards, one Superior Group Award, and several performance awards. For his contributions to the U.S. Forces Korea Command from 2006 to 2009, the U.S. Department of the Army awarded Dr. Stanton the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal. Following his retirement in August 2012, he was granted a Taiwan Resident Certificate for his efforts in promoting US-Taiwan ties.

After diplomacy

Since August 16, 2019 Stanton has served as Vice President of National Yang Ming University in Taiwan. From August 1, 2017 to July 31, 2019, he served as Professor in the Center for General Education at National Taiwan University. From 2013 to 2017 he was the George K.C. Yeh Distinguished Chair Professor at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, Taiwan where he was the founding Director of the University's Asia Policy Center.AIT director to teach at TAS
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Family

Stanton was formerly married to another Foreign Service Officer and former Ambassador, Karen Stanton (Ambassador to East Timor). They have two daughters, Katherine and Elizabeth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, William A. 1947 births Living people American diplomats American people of Armenian descent American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent Directors of the American Institute in Taiwan Fordham University alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Academic staff of the National Tsing Hua University Recipients of the Order of Brilliant Star