Thomas Joseph Dodd Jr. (born 1935) is an American diplomat and academic who served as the

United States Ambassador to Uruguay The following is a list of United States ambassadors, or other chiefs of mission, to Uruguay. The current title given by the United States State Department to this position is Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. See also ...

(1993–1997) and to

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

(1997–2001).

Early life and education

Dodd gained an affinity for speaking Spanish as a teenager while going down to the docks in his hometown in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, where he often interacted with Spanish speaking-immigrants who worked as fishermen. He obtained his B.S.F.S from the

School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It grants degrees at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Founded in 1919, SFS is the oldest continu ...

in 1957. He went on to earn his Master of Arts and PhD from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

, where he was also formerly an adjunct professor.Thomas J. Dodd: Former U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay

Career

Dodd was a Second Lieutenant at

Fort Holabird Fort Holabird was a United States Army post in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, active from 1918 to 1973. History Fort Holabird was located in the southeast corner of Baltimore and northwest of the suburban developments of Dundalk, Maryland, i ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

from 1958 to 1959. From 1960 to 1961, he was a captain in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, where he was assigned to the Military Intelligence Detachment with the

49th Armored Division The 49th Armored Division —nicknamed the "Lone Star"— was an armored division of the Texas Army National Guard during the Cold War. Active from 1947, the division formed part of the Texas Army National Guard together with the 36th Infantry ...

. Dodd was awarded the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

in 1961. Dodd has taught Latin American history and diplomacy at the

for over 30 years, where he is professor emeritus. He has written several books on Latin America and edited the papers of the Colombian diplomat

Tomás Herrán Tomás Herrán y Mosquera (September 21, 1843 – 1904), a Colombian diplomat, signed and became a namesake of the Hay–Herrán Treaty of 1903. Family Herrán was the son of Pedro Alcántara Herrán and the maternal grandson of Tomás Cipria ...

. Dodd is also the author of a biography of Tiburcio Carias. He is a member of the

Inter-American Foundation The Inter-American Foundation, or IAF, is an independent agency of the United States government that funds community-led development in Latin America and the Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas cent ...

board of directors.IAF

Personal life

Dodd is the son of the late former U.S. Senator Thomas J. Dodd and brother of former U.S. Senator

Chris Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the List of United Sta ...

Books

* ''Tiburcio Carias: Portrait of a Honduran Political Leader'', Louisiana State University Press, 2005. * ''Managing Democracy in Central America: United States Election Supervision in Nicaragua, 1927-1933'',

Lynne Rienner Publishers Lynne Rienner Publishers is an independent scholarly and textbook publishing firm based in Boulder, Colorado. It was founded in 1984 and remains one of the few independent publishers in the United States. It publishes primarily in the fields of ...

, 1992 * ''The Letters of Tomás Herrán and the Panama Crisis, 1900-1903''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodd, Thomas J. Jr. Living people Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Uruguay Ambassadors of the United States to Costa Rica Dodd family 1935 births George Washington University alumni George Washington University faculty