James P. Zumwalt

James Zumwalt
United States Ambassador to Senegal
In office
February 3, 2015  January 19, 2017
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Lewis Lukens
Succeeded by Tulinabo S. Mushingi
United States Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau
In office
March 10, 2015  January 19, 2017
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Lewis Lukens
Succeeded by Tulinabo S. Mushingi
Personal details
Born (1956-04-13) April 13, 1956[1]
El Cajon, California, U.S.
Alma mater University of California, Berkeley
National War College

James Peter Zumwalt (born Apriil 13, 1956)[1] is an American diplomat with expertise in trade, economy, and East Asia. On November 19, 2014 he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal and to the Republic of Guinea-Bissau. Previously, he worked as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, covering Japan and Korea. Until December 2011, he was the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan where he also served as chargé d'affaires ad interim during the absence of an Ambassador from January 15, 2009 till August 20, 2009. He coordinated the U.S. Embassy's response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[2]

Zumwalt became the CEO of Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, a think tank dedicated to the U.S.-Japan relationship, on February 20, 2017.[3]

Early life

Zumwalt came from El Cajon, California.[4]

In 1973 in his high school days Zumwalt, as one of the exchange students of the AFS program, stayed with a host family in Yokohama and learned at Komaba Toho High School in Tokyo. Though he had a great difficulty in learning Japanese language at first, with the help of patient teachers he got used to Japanese language and culture.[5]

Graduating from high school, Zumwalt entered U.C. Berkeley where he received a bachelor of arts in American History and in Japanese Language in 1979.[4]

Career

U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham, Amy Klobuchar, and John McCain with Chargé d'Affaires James Zumwalt, in Chiyoda Ward, Tōkyō, April 2009.

Within the State Department in Washington, D.C, Zumwalt worked as an expert on Asia, especially East Asia. He is proficient in Japanese, as well as French and Mandarin Chinese.[4]

In 1998 he earned a master's degree in International Security Studies from the National War College.[4]

When Barack Obama became the President and the US Ambassador to Japan, Tom Schieffer, resigned, Zumwalt worked as the chargé d'affaires ad interim from January 15, 2009 until August 20, 2009 when John Roos became ambassador.[6][7] Zumwalt again served as the Deputy Chief of Mission of US Embassy in Japan from 2008-2012.[4]

See also


References


Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Lewis Lukens
United States Ambassador to Senegal
2015–2017
Succeeded by
Tulinabo S. Mushingi
United States Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau
2015–2017
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