Jon Gundersen (born 1945) is an American diplomat. Gundersen served as the Chargé d'Affaires ad interim

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Biography

He served as an officer 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 ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. He was a member of the first US counter-terrorism "Sky Marshall" operations in the early 1970s and has worked as a Merchant Sailor. Gundersen served in numerous assignments both in the US and overseas, concentrating on the Nordic Region, arms control and political-military issues. He served as Chargé d'Affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission in a number of nations, including

(1992),

(1994-1995),

and

. He opened the first U. S. mission in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

in 1992 and has been assigned to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, and as Political Advisor to the Special Operations Command and Senior Advisor for

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i Reconstruction. He is the Chair of Advanced Nordic Area Studies at the

Foreign Service Institute The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the United States federal government's primary training institution for members of the U.S. foreign service community, preparing American diplomats as well as other professionals to advance U.S. foreign ...

. He also teaches at the Joint Special Operations University and works for the State Department declassifying sensitive documents. In the 2020 presidential election, Gundersen supported the

Republican Voters Against Trump Republican Accountability (RA), formerly Republican Accountability Project (RAP) and, for the 2024 presidential election, Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT), is a political initiative launched in May 2020 by Defending Democracy Together for ...

campaign for Democratic candidate

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

References

External links

Embassy of the United States in Kyiv

Department History. Jon Gundersen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gundersen, Jon Living people 1945 births Ambassadors of the United States to Ukraine Ambassadors of the United States to Estonia 20th-century American diplomats