Frank Almaguer (born 1945) is an American retired diplomat and career

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. FSOs formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. They spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, cons ...

. He has served in numerous positions with the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

, the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...

, the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

and the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

Background

Almaguer was born in Holguin, Cuba and grew up in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in 1967 and a Master of Science in

government administration The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to the jurisdiction under which it operates. In general terms, the administration can be described as a decision-making body. United States In American usage, the ...

from the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

in 1974.

Career

Almaguer served in the

as a volunteer in

Orange Walk Town Orange Walk is the fourth largest town in Belize, with a population of about 13,400 (Official Release of the Main Findings of the 2010 Population and Housing Census). It is the capital of the Orange Walk District. Orange Walk Town is located on ...

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

from 1967 to 1969, as Associate PC Belize Country Director from 1974 to 1976, and as PC Country Director in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

from 1976 to 1979. From 1979 to 1983, Almaguer served as Deputy Mission Director for the

(USAID) in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. From 1983 to 1986, Almaguer worked for USAID in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

as Director of the Office of South American and Mexican Affairs. From 1986 to 1990, he served as USAID Mission Director in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. During the 1990-91 academic year, Almaguer participated in the U.S. State Department's Senior Seminar Program overseen by the U.S.

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 ...

. From 1991 to 1993, Almaguer served as USAID's Regional Mission Director for Eastern Europe, based in Washington. From 1993 to 1996, he served as USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Human Resources and Director of Personnel in Washington. From 1996 to 1999, he served as USAID Mission Director in

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. In 1999, Almaguer was nominated by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as

United States Ambassador to Honduras The following is a list of United States ambassadors, or other chiefs of mission, to Honduras. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently ''Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.'' See also * H ...

, where he served from August 1999 to September 2002. Almaguer retired from the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carr ...

with the personal rank of Career Minister in November 2002. From 2003 to 2005, Almaguer served as a Senior Adviser to the

Pan American Development Foundation The Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) is a non-governmental and non-political organization created in 1962 by the Organization of American States (OAS), the public sector and the private sector to focus on issues of pressing concern in the ...

, was a United States Delegate to the 60th annual meeting of the

United Nations Commission on Human Rights The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the United Nations System, overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a ...

, and worked as an international consultant on economic and social development reforms. Almaguer was appointed as Secretary for Administration and Finance at the

, the third-ranking position at the OAS, in February 2005, where he served for almost six years. He retired from the OAS position in December 2010. Since retiring from the OAS, Almaguer has served on a number of Boards: He has served since 2012 on the Board of Trustees of the Pan American Agricultural University (aka, Zamorano), serving students from throughout the Americas. He also has served on the Board of the USAID Alumni Association (2012-2016). In 2016, Almaguer was appointed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to serve on the Foreign Service Grievance Board (FSGB), a position to which he was reappointed by Secretary of State

Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American retired politician who served in the First presidency of Donald Trump#Administration, first administration of Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) fr ...

in 2018. In 2017, Almaguer was elected as a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy.

Personal life

Almaguer is married to Antoinette Almaguer (née Gallegos), a native of

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. They have two adult children and four grandchildren. Almaguer and his wife live in

Vienna, Virginia Vienna () is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, ...

References

External links

Announcement of appointment as Ambassador
, 16 April 1999
Bio at O.A.S.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Almaguer, Frank 1945 births Living people University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Honduras People of the United States Agency for International Development Cuban emigrants to the United States George Washington University alumni American expatriates in Belize American expatriates in Honduras American expatriates in Panama American expatriates in Ecuador American expatriates in Bolivia United States Foreign Service personnel People from Holguín