James Brendan Foley (born April 4, 1957) is a retired American foreign service officer. He served as the United States Ambassador to the

Republic of Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

from May 27, 2003 to August 14, 2005, and as the United States Ambassador to the

Republic of Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Mont ...

from August 12, 2009 to August 19, 2012. As Ambassador to Haiti, Foley participated in the late-night negotiations between Haitian President

Jean Bertrand Aristide Jean-Bertrand Aristide (; born 15 July 1953) is a Haitian former Salesian priest and politician who became Haiti's first democratically elected president in 1991 before being deposed in a coup d'état. As a priest, he taught liberation theol ...

and U.S. Secretary of State

Colin L. Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th national security advisor ...

leading to Aristide's February 29, 2004 resignation and acceptance of a U.S. offer to fly him into exile.

Early life and education

Foley was born in

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He received his B.A. in 1979 from the

State University of New York at Fredonia The State University of New York at Fredonia (alternatively SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia State, or Fredonia) is a public university in Fredonia, New York. It is the westernmost member of the State University of New York. Founded in 1826, it is the six ...

and M.A.L.D. in 1984 from the

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. Fletcher is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations. As of 2017, the student bo ...

Professional career

Foley is a former member of the

Senior Foreign Service The Senior Foreign Service (SFS) comprises the top four ranks of the United States Foreign Service. These ranks were created by the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and Executive Order 12293 in order to provide the Foreign Service with senior grades ...

. He served from 2007 to 2009 as the State Department’s Senior Coordinator for Iraqi Refugee Issues, working to alleviate the plight of several million Iraqis displaced by the war. Previously, he served as faculty member and Deputy Commandant of the

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...

, as a Diplomat-in-Residence, and as Deputy Permanent Representative to 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 ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

from 2000 to 2003. He joined the Foreign Service in 1983 and served overseas as vice consul and political officer in Manila,

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and as political officer in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. Foley was a speechwriter and adviser to former Secretary of State Lawrence S. Eagleburger from 1989 to 1993 and Deputy Director of the Private Office of the NATO Secretary General in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

from 1993 to 1996. He was special assistant to the late Senator

Paul Coverdell Paul Douglas Coverdell (January 20, 1939 – July 18, 2000) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 1993 until his death in 2000. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the director o ...

and served as State Department Deputy Spokesman from 1997 to 2000.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, James Brendan 1957 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Haiti State University of New York at Fredonia alumni St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute alumni The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Croatia United States Foreign Service personnel 21st-century American diplomats