Jon Robert Purnell (born 1948) is a former United States Ambassador to Uzbekistan.

Personal life

Purnell grew up in

Norwood, Massachusetts Norwood is a town and census-designated place in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Norwood is part of the Greater Boston area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,611. The town was named after Norwood, England. Norwood is ...

and graduated Norwood High School in 1966. Afterwards, he attended

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

and earned a bachelor's degree in

European History The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500–1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early Eu ...

in 1970, followed by a master's degree in

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Studies from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1973.

Foreign Service career

He worked in

Monrovia, Liberia Monrovia () is the administrative capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liberia’s total population. It ...

from 1980 to 1981 and in

Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

from 1988 to 1989 as a member of the U.S. conventional arms control delegation. Purnell's assignments in Washington have focused on

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He first worked in Moscow from 1982–1984. He worked as special assistant to Ambassador Jack F. Matlock, Jr. on the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

in 1986. From 1989–1992 he served as Deputy Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General at St. Petersburg, Russia. From 1993–1996, he was the Director of the State Department's Office of

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

and

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

. Purnell’s overseas postings have included

Almaty, Kazakhstan Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains in southern Kazakhstan, near the border with ...

, where he was Deputy Chief of Mission from 1997–2000. He served as Deputy to the Secretary’s Acting Special Adviser for the Newly Independent States. Between 2001–2002, he served as a Senior Inspector in the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General. He was Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Jon Purnell presented his credentials as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

on January 28, 2004. In the aftermath of

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, Uzbekistan had become an area of heightened importance to the US, owing to its border with

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 ...

, and a strategic ally in the War on Terror. His British counterpart, who had been there more than a year before him, was

Craig Murray Craig John Murray (born 17 October 1958) is a Scottish author, human rights campaigner, journalist, and former diplomat. While he was the British ambassador to Uzbekistan (2002–2004), he exposed the violations of human rights in that count ...

, who writes about their encounters in his memoir '' Murder in Samarkand: A British Ambassador's Controversial Defiance of Tyranny in the War on Terror'' (2006). One of the most serious events that Purnell had to deal with was the May 2005

Andijan massacre On 13 May 2005, protests erupted in Andijan, Uzbekistan. At one point, troops from the Uzbek National Security Service (SNB) fired into a crowd of protesters. Estimates of those killed on 13 May range from 187, the official count of the governme ...

, in which the

Uzbek government The Republic of Uzbekistan is a semi-presidential constitutional republic, whereby the President of Uzbekistan is head of state. Executive power is exercised by the government and by the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan. Legislative power is vested ...

killed hundreds, possibly thousands, of civilians. Calls from Western governments, including the US, for an international investigation prompted a major shift in Uzbek foreign policy favoring closer relations with Asian nations instead of with the West. In July of that year, the Uzbek government ordered the closing of the United States air base in

Karshi-Khanabad Karshi-Khanabad (or K2) is an air base in southeastern Uzbekistan, just east of Karshi. It is home to the 60th Separate Mixed Aviation Brigade of the Uzbek Air Force. The airport is above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 07/25 wi ...

, which was accomplished by November. Purnell departed post April 28, 2007. Purnell has received the Department of State’s

Superior Honor Award The Superior Honor Award is an award of the United States Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and USAID. It is presented to groups or individ ...

and Meritorious Honor Award.

References

External links

Bio at Tashkent Embassy website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purnell, Jon Robert 1940s births Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Uzbekistan Brown University alumni Harvard University alumni People from Norwood, Massachusetts