Gentry O. Smith (born 1959) is an American foreign service officer who had served as

Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security The assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security is the head of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security in the United States Department of State. The assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security reports to the Under Secretary of State ...

. From June 2015 to January 2017, he was Director of the

Office of Foreign Missions The Office of Foreign Missions (OFM) is a component of the United States Department of State to provide services to American diplomatic personnel abroad and foreign diplomats residing in the United States. History It was created by the United ...

Early life and education

Smith was born to two school teachers in

Halifax County, North Carolina Halifax County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,622. Its county seat is Halifax. Halifax County is part of the Roanoke Rapids, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

. He attended

Weldon High School Weldon City School District or Weldon City Schools is a school district headquartered in Weldon, North Carolina Weldon is a town in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,655 at the 2010 census. It is part of the ...

Weldon, North Carolina Weldon is a town in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,655 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area. History In 1752, Daniel Weldon purchased 1,273 ac ...

. He ran

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

and played

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

on the school's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

Career

Smith served as a police officer in the

Raleigh Police Department The Raleigh Police Department is the municipal law enforcement agency of Raleigh, North Carolina. Overview The Raleigh Police Department is a full service police department, serving all areas in the city limits of Raleigh, and some properties w ...

for four years, through 1987, when he went to work for the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

as a special agent in the

Diplomatic Security Service The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is the principal Specialist law enforcement agency, law enforcement and security agency of the United States Department of State (DOS). Its primary mission is to protect diplomatic assets, personnel, and info ...

. In 2000, he was deputy regional security officer in Cairo. In 2004, he was regional security officer in Tokyo. He was director of the Office of Physical Security Programs. In 2009, he was as deputy assistant secretary and assistant director for countermeasures. In 2014,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

nominated Smith as Director of the

. On January 26, 2017, when

Rex Tillerson Rex Tillerson is an American energy executive who served as the 69th United States secretary of state from 2017 to 2018 in the first administration of Donald Trump. From 2006 to 2016, he was chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Exxon ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's nominee for

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...

, visited the

United States State Department 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 ...

, Smith, Patrick F. Kennedy,

Joyce Anne Barr Joyce Anne Barr (born 1951) American diplomat and a career foreign service officer in the Department of State. She served as an Assistant Secretary of State for Administration and Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer. Prior to that, Barr was ...

, and Michele Bond were all simultaneously asked to resign. In November 2020, Smith was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the United States Department of State.

Personal life

Smith is married and has four children.

References

External links

A Conversation on Diplomacy U.S Ambassador Gentry O. Smith
February 18, 2016
PN131 - Nomination of Gentry O. Smith for Department of State, 114th Congress (2015-2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Gentry O. 1959 births African-American diplomats 21st-century American diplomats Biden administration personnel Directors of the Office of Foreign Missions Living people North Carolina State University alumni Obama administration personnel People from Weldon, North Carolina