Thomas A. Shannon, Jr.

Thomas Shannon
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office February 12, 2016
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Wendy Sherman
In office July 28, 2011 – September 21, 2011 Acting
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Bill Burns
Succeeded by	Wendy Sherman
Counselor of the United States Department of State
In office December 24, 2013 – February 12, 2016
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Heather Higginbottom
Succeeded by	Kristie Kenney
United States Ambassador to Brazil
In office February 4, 2010 – September 6, 2013
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Clifford Sobel
Succeeded by	Liliana Ayalde
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
In office October 17, 2005 – November 10, 2009
President	George W. Bush Barack Obama
Preceded by	Roger Noriega
Succeeded by	Arturo Valenzuela
Personal details
Born	1958 (age 57–58)[1]
Alma mater	College of William and Mary University of Oxford

Thomas Alfred Shannon, Jr. (born 1958)^[1] is the current Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs at the United States Department of State and a Career Ambassador in the United States Foreign Service. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 12, 2016.^[2] Prior to this position, he was Counselor of the United States Department of State and U.S. Ambassador to Brazil from 2009 to 2013. Previously he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, leading the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the U.S. Department of State from 2005 through 2009.^[3] In September 2015, President Obama nominated Shannon to be Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.^[4][5]

Career

Shannon holds an M.Phil (1982) and D.Phil. (1982), both in politics, from Oxford University, and a B.A. with high honors in government and philosophy from the College of William & Mary (1980).^[3]

During his career as a Foreign Service Officer he has served as Special Assistant to the Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Brasília, Brazil from 1989 to 1992; as Country Officer for Cameroon, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe from 1987 to 1989; and as the Consular/Political Rotational Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, Guatemala from 1984 to 1986.^[3]

Shannon served as Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council from 1999 to 2000; as Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, from 1996 to 1999; and as Regional Labor Attaché at the U.S. Consulate General in Johannesburg, South Africa from 1992 to 1996.^[3]

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Shannon served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council from 2003 to 2005. From 2002 to 2003, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the Department of State, where he was Director of Andean Affairs from 2001 to 2002. He was U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) from 2000 to 2001.^[3]

References

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN

United States Ambassadors to Brazil Chargé d'affaires Raguet Tudor Brown Hunter Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Hunter Proffit Wise Tod Schenck Trousdale Meade Webb Monroe (Chargé d'Affaires ad interim) Blow Partridge Hilliard Osborn Jarvis Adams Conger TThompson Conger Bryan DThompson Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary DThompson Griscom Dudley Morgan Gibson Caffery Berle Pawley Johnson Kemper Dunn Briggs Luce Cabot Gordon Tuthill Elbrick Rountree Crimmins Sayre Motley Asencio Shlaudman Melton Levitsky Harrington Orozco (Chargé d'Affaires ad interim) Hrinak Danilovich Chicola (Chargé d'Affaires ad interim) Sobel Shannon Ayalde