American diplomat
James Peter Zumwalt
(born April 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 the
U.S. Ambassador to Senegal
and to
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
where he also served as
charge d'affaires
ad interim during the absence of an Ambassador from January to August 2009. He coordinated the U.S. Embassy's response to the
2011 T?hoku earthquake and tsunami
.
[2]
Zumwalt became the CEO of Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, a
think tank
dedicated to the U.S.-Japan relations, on February 20, 2017.
[2]
He then was appointed Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Japan-America Society of Washington DC in September 2019.
[3]
Early life
[
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]
Zumwalt was born and raised in
El Cajon, California
.
[4]
Zumwalt attended
University of California, Berkeley
, where he received a
Bachelor of Arts
in American History and in Japanese Language. He graduated in 1979.
[4]
Career
[
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U.S. Senators
Lindsey Graham
,
Amy Klobuchar
, and
John McCain
with Charge d'Affaires James Zumwalt, in
Chiyoda Ward, T?ky?
, 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]
- (1999?2002) Economic Minister-Counselor in Embassy Beijing
- (2002?2003) Economic Counselor,
- (2004?2006) Economic Minister,
- (2006?2008) Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs in the Department of State, Washington, D.C.
- (2008? January 15, 2009) the Deputy Chief of Mission of US Embassy
- (2009.01.15 ? 2009.08.20) the charge d'affaires ad interim
When
Barack Obama
became the President and the US Ambassador to Japan,
Tom Schieffer
, resigned, Zumwalt worked as the
charge d'affaires
ad interim from January 15, 2009, until August 20, 2009, when
John Roos
became ambassador.
[5]
[6]
Zumwalt again served as the Deputy Chief of Mission of US Embassy in Japan from 2008 to 2012.
[4]
- 2009-2012 Deputy Chief of Mission, Tokyo, Japan
- 2012-2014 Deputy Asst. Secretary of State, East Asia and Pacific
- 2015-2017 Ambassador to Senegal and Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau
See also
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References
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External links
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