Francis Joseph Ricciardone Jr. (born 1952) is a former President of the American University in Cairo. Ricciardone was the United States ambassador to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

between 2011 and 2014. Previously he was Deputy Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. He was also on leave from the U.S. Department of State as a guest scholar at the

U.S. Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American independent, nonprofit, national institute funded by the U.S. Congress and tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. See alsPDF on USIP website. It provides rese ...

. He has served as U.S. Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt (2005–2008), the

Republic of the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...

and the

Republic of Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands, w ...

(2002–2005). As a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, he received U.S. government and other organization awards for his work in foreign policy and program management, political reporting and analysis, and peacekeeping.

Early life and career

Ricciardone is the son of Francis Ricciardone Sr., a

Seabee United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Forces (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Dependi ...

veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He graduated from Malden Catholic High School in Malden,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Upon graduating ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' with a B.A. from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1973, he received a

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

for teaching and study in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He went to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

as a teacher in 1976 where he taught at the Community School, Tehran, traveling widely in

Southwest Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenia ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

until he entered the

Foreign Service Foreign Service may refer to: * Diplomatic service, the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country * United States Foreign Service, the diplomatic service of the United States government **Foreign Service ...

in 1978. He speaks Italian, Turkish,

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and French.

AUC Presidency

Ricciardone was named president of the American University in Cairo and assumed office on July 1, 2016. Having no experience in higher education, and lacking an advanced university degree, Ricciardone's tenure was controversial. In 2016, protests erupted after Ricciardone raised tuition. In February 2019, the faculty of the American University overwhelmingly voted that they had "no confidence" in Ricciardone's leadership. According to the New York Times, the faculty members cited low morale, complaints about his management style, grievances over contracts and accusations of illegal discrimination. On Feb 10, 2019 the Board of Trustees of the American University in Cairo voted unanimously to reaffirm its “continued confidence” and “unqualified support” in Ricciardone and his administration, and extended his contract as President. Ricciardone retired from the Presidency in June, 2021. Over the term of Ricciardone's presidency, AUC's ranking dropped from 364 to 1000, according to Times Higher Education.

Foreign service

Nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

on July 25, 2005, and confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on July 29, 2005, Ricciardone was sworn in as United States Ambassador to Egypt on August 26, 2005. Ricciardone was Deputy Ambassador for the American mission to Afghanistan from May 2010. Ricciardone's nomination to be ambassador to Turkey stalled during 2010, and in late 2010, President Obama gave Ricciardone a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the President of the United States, president of a Officer of the United States, federal official when the United States Senate, U.S. Senate is in Recess (motion), recess. Under the ...

so he could begin serving. The U.S. Senate then confirmed Ricciardone in a voice vote on October 4, 2011.

Family

Ricciardone is married to Marie, a molecular biologist who was educated and later taught in Turkish universities during her husband's service time in Turkey. The couple has two daughters, Francesca and Chiara. Francesca was born in Turkey. Both daughters were schooled in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

for three years.

References

External links

Francis Ricciardone's official website
* * ttp://foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Ricciardone,%20Jr.,%20Hon.%20Francis%20Joseph1.pdf "Testimony of Francis J. Ricciardone, Ambassador-Designate to the Republic of Turkey" ''Senate Foreign Relations Committee'', July 20, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricciardone, Francis J. Jr. Living people Dartmouth College alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Egypt Ambassadors of the United States to Turkey American people of Italian descent Ambassadors of the United States to the Philippines Malden Catholic High School alumni Recess appointments 1952 births Diplomats from Boston Ambassadors of the United States to Palau United States Foreign Service personnel 21st-century American diplomats Presidents of The American University in Cairo