Ryszard Marian Schnepf (1951) is a Polish politician and diplomat.

Early life

Schnepf was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Poland on 22 September 1951, to

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

mother, Alicja Szczepaniak-Schnepf (born in 1930), recognised as

Righteous among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sa ...

and father, colonel Maksymilian Schnepf (1920–2003), who until 1968 was head of the communist military office (Studium Wojskowe) at the University of Warsaw. Ryszard Schnepf graduated from history at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields o ...

. He defended doctoral thesis there.

Career

Since 1978 he has been working as a lecturer at the University of Warsaw. In the early 1990s Schnepf joined the diplomatic service. Between 1991 and 1996 he served as Ambassador to Uruguay and Paraguay and between 2001 and 2005 to Costa Rica. From 2007 to late 2008 he served as the under-secretary of state of Poland, as part of the Foreign Ministry. From 2008 to 2012 he was ambassador to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. On 14 January 2013, Ryszard Schnepf presented his credentials to U.S. President Barack Obama in a formal ceremony at the Oval Office, marking his official recognition as Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the United States. He served as Poland's Ambassador until July 31, 2016. He was succeeded as Ambassador by

Piotr Wilczek Piotr Antoni Wilczek (born 26 April 1962 in Chorzów) is a Polish intellectual historian, a specialist in comparative literature and a literary translator, who served as the Ambassador of Poland to the United States (2016–2021) and the United ...

Honours

* Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

(Spain, 2012) * Grand Cross of the National Order of Juan Mora Fernández (Costa Rica, 2004)

References

1951 births Living people Diplomats from Warsaw Politicians from Warsaw Polish people of Jewish descent Ambassadors of Poland to Uruguay Ambassadors of Poland to Paraguay Ambassadors of Poland to Costa Rica Ambassadors of Poland to Spain Ambassadors of Poland to the United States Ambassadors of Poland to the Bahamas Academic staff of the University of Warsaw University of Warsaw alumni {{Poland-diplomat-stub