Richard A. Boucher (born December 13, 1951) is an American diplomat who was deputy secretary-general of the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

(OECD) from 2009 until 2013. He took up post on November 5, 2009. Prior to joining OECD, he was the

assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs The assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs is the head of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs within the United States Department of State, which handles U.S. foreign policy and relations in the following countri ...

, a position he assumed on February 21, 2006. The Bureau of South Asian Affairs was expanded to include the nations of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

shortly before his confirmation.

Career

In 2005, Boucher became the longest-serving

assistant secretary of state for public affairs Assistant may refer to: * Assistant (by Speaktoit), a virtual assistant app for smartphones * Assistant (software), a software tool to assist in computer configuration * Google Assistant, a virtual assistant by Google * ''The Assistant'' (TV ser ...

in 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 ...

's history. He began his most recent tenure as spokesman for the State Department in May 2000 under Secretary

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...

and continued as spokesman throughout the tenure of Secretary

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, 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 ...

and for Secretary

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...

until June 2005. He had previously served as the department's deputy spokesman under Secretary Baker, starting in 1989, and became the spokesman for Secretary Eagleburger in August 1992 and for Secretary Christopher until June 1993. Boucher’s early career focused on economic affairs,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

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 ...

. From October 1993 to June 1996 he served as ambassador to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, and from 1996 to 1999 he headed the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong as the consul general. He led U.S. efforts as the U.S. senior official for

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy , economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Following the success of Association of Southeast Asia ...

(APEC) from July 1999 to April 2000. Richard Boucher and Mahinda Rajapaksa

Since joining 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 1977, Boucher received Mandarin training at the

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 ...

's Chinese Language School in

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, before transferring to the Embassy chancery in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

in 1978 (the diplomatic ties between Taipei and Washington severed on the same year, thus ending the operation of embassy in 1979), He then served at the Consulate General in Guangzhou from 1979 to 1980. After that he went back to Washington D.C. to serve in the State Department's Economic Bureau, and on the China Desk. He returned to

from 1984 to 1986 as deputy principal officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai, and then went back to Washington in July 1986, where he served in the State Department's Operations Center and as the deputy director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs. He served as a contractor of the

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 19 ...

, and served as a

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 ...

volunteer in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, from 1973 to 1975. Boucher is a Foreign Service officer with the personal rank of

career ambassador Career ambassador is a personal rank of Foreign Service officers within the United States Department of State Senior Foreign Service. The rank of career ambassador is awarded by nomination of the president and confirmation by the United States Sen ...

, the highest rank obtainable by a Foreign Service officer, and was also the longest-serving assistant secretary for public affairs in the

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 ...

’s history. In 2020, Boucher, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that U.S. President

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 ...

was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."

Education

Fluent in Chinese and French, Boucher obtained his bachelor's degree in 1973 at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

in English and French literature and did graduate work in economics at 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 ...

. He is currently a senior fellow in international and public affairs at the

Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, soon to be renamed Watson School for International and Public Affairs, is an interdisciplinary research center at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Its mission is to promote a ...

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 ' ...

References

*
Notable Former Volunteers / Foreign Service
. Peace Corps official site. Accessed January 5, 2007. *
Richard Boucher , Watson Institute
. Watson Institute faculty page. Accessed November 13, 2017.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boucher, Richard 1951 births Living people United States assistant secretaries of state Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Cyprus Clinton administration personnel United States career ambassadors People from Bethesda, Maryland Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni United States Department of State spokespeople Consuls-general for the United States in Hong Kong and Macau United States Foreign Service personnel