Mary Jean Thompson is an American honorary consul appointed by the ruling monarch and prime minister of the Principality of Liechtenstein and accredited by the Department of State of the United States of America. She serves the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

from the consulate in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. She is the fifth consul representing Liechtenstein in the world and the only woman serving in that capacity.

Biography

Thompson was born in Salem, Oregon, the daughter of L. Wayne and Bernis Nelson Schrunk. She attended North Salem High School and received the degrees of Bachelor of Music, cum laude from

Lewis and Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Originally chartered in 1867 as the Albany Collegiate Institute in Albany, Oregon, the college was relocated to Portland in 1938 and in 1942 adopted the name Lewis & C ...

and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design, summa cum laude, from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. Thompson founded Thompson Design Associates, Inc., in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

in 1970. Articles about Thompson and her work have been published by every leading national design magazine in the US including '' Architectural Digest'', ''

Interior Design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordi ...

'', '' Contract Design'' and ''Interiors'' and internationally. She has been a professional member of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and the

American Society of Interior Designers The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes the profession of interior design. It has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. Throughout all of the associatio ...

(ASID). In 1991 Thompson founded the Healthcare Design Research Alliance, a consortium of the 10 or more of largest manufacturers of healthcare products and furnishings in the US. She led these manufacturers for 14 years in conducting research in US hospitals and producing better products integrated with one another. Thompson has won numerous awards for

, including Best of Show, Honor Award, Merit Award and Citation Award in 2001 and two Citation Awards in 2003 by the Oregon Annual IIDA/AIA/ASID Interior Design competition. Thompson is a lifetime Regent of the George Washington Foundation in Fredericksburg, Virginia and has served on the boards of the

Oregon Symphony The Oregon Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded as the 'Portland Symphony Society' in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States. I ...

Alumni, Oregon Repertory Singers, and Reno Philharmonic Orchestra.

Diplomatic Appointment

On March 24, 2010 Foreign Minister Aurelia Frick, accompanied by Liechtenstein’s Ambassador to the United States, Claudia Fritsche, and Ambassador Roland Marxer, Director of the Liechtenstein Office for Foreign Affairs, installed Thompson as Honorary Consul of the Principality of Liechtenstein to Oregon and the Pacific Northwest Region of the United States of America and Head of Post. Thompson will help

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

to widen its outreach to the

and she will play a central role in increasing awareness of the Principality. She will promote academic and cultural exchanges as well as increase economic ties between the US and Liechtenstein.

References

External links

Principality of Liechtenstein website

US Department of State website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Mary Jean Living people Politicians from Salem, Oregon Lewis & Clark College alumni Year of birth missing (living people)