Ronald Keith McMullen (born October 18,1955) [1] is an American foreign service officer and a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Eritrea from 2007 to 2010.
McMullen was born in Iowa,and received his doctorate from the University of Iowa,where wrote his dissertation on economic consequences of African coups d'état. He received a master's degree from the University of Minnesota and his bachelor's degree from Drake University.
He is a member of the Senior Foreign Service and has over twenty-five years of diplomatic experience. He previously directed the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Bureau of International Narcotic and Law Enforcement Affairs. Prior to that he served as Associate Dean of the Foreign Service Institute’s School of Leadership and Management.
Mr. McMullen was Deputy Chief of Mission in Rangoon,Burma from 2002 until 2005. In Burma he worked closely with Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and pro-democracy and ethnic minority groups. As Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge’d’Affaires in the Fiji Islands from 1999 until 2002,he was instrumental in helping Fiji pull back from the brink of civil conflict after an armed takeover of parliament and subsequent coup d'état.
Other overseas assignments include serving as Deputy Principal Officer in Cape Town,South Africa;Economic Officer in Libreville,Gabon;Political Officer in Colombo,Sri Lanka;and Vice Consul in Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic. From 1990 until 1993 Dr. McMullen served as visiting professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point,where he taught six different courses in International Relations and Comparative Politics. Before joining the Foreign Service in 1982,Mr. McMullen served as a State Department intern in Khartoum,Sudan.
His languages include Spanish,French,Afrikaans,and Russian. McMullen has authored a dozen scholarly works and is a three-time recipient of the State Department's Superior Honor Award.
Ronald Ian "Ron" Spiers was an American diplomat who served as an Ambassador to several countries during the 1970s and 1980s.
Emil Skodon,former United States diplomat and a career foreign service officer. He was the U.S. ambassador to Brunei until August 1,2008. He was sworn in as ambassador on September 7,2005,and presented his credentials to the Sultan of Brunei on November 1. A career diplomat and Minister Counselor in the Senior United States Foreign Service,Skodon had previously been Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Rome,Italy,since August 2002. He retired from the Foreign Service following his service in Brunei and is currently an independent consultant living in Washington,DC.
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African-Americans in foreign policy in the United States catalogs distinguished African Americans who have and continue to contribute to international development,diplomacy,and defense through their work with the U.S. Department of State,the U.S. Agency for International Development,the U.S. Information Agency,and the U.S. Congress,and other notable agencies and non-governmental organizations. The creators acknowledge the presence of the interagency contributions to the foreign affairs realm,and welcome additional content to showcase the achievements of African-Americans in other relevant USG agencies.
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