Robert Orris Blake Jr. (born 1957) is an American career

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

who served as Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from 2006 to 2009,

Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs #REDIRECT Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs {{R from other capitalisation ...

from 2009 to 2013 and Ambassador to Indonesia from 2014 to 2016. Blake is a Senior Director at McLarty Associates where he leads the firm's India and South Asia practice and advises clients in Indonesia for the Southeast Asia and Pacific practice. He is also co-chair of the board of trustees at th
U.S.-Indonesia Society (USINDO)
and is a board member at th
Asia Foundation
and th
Bhutan Foundation
Blake also serves on the Global Leadership Council for th
World Resources Institute
and th
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
He is the son of Robert O. Blake and grandson of

Sheldon Whitehouse Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Attorney from 1993 to 1998 ...

, both former U.S. Ambassadors.

Diplomatic career

Blake is a career

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

, having entered the Foreign Service in 1985. He has served at the U.S. embassies in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

. He also has held a number of positions at the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or 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 of other nat ...

in Washington, D.C. Blake served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, from 2003 to 2006 where he was named the worldwide DCM of the Year by the State Department. BlakeNovember2007

Blake arrived in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

on September 8, 2006, to take up his duties as Ambassador to the

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and the

Republic of Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives,, ) and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is a country and archipelagic state in South Asia in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about from the A ...

. Blake presented his credentials on September 9 to Sri Lankan President

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

. In January 2007 he met with President

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (; dv, މައުމޫން ޢަބްދުލް ޤައްޔޫމް; born 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician and an Islamic scholar who served as the President of Maldives from 1978 to 2008. After serving as Minister of Trans ...

to discuss renewable energy in the Maldives. In February 2007, Blake received minor injuries from a mortar blast while exiting a helicopter at a Sri Lankan air base in

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the ...

, where he was to attend a development meeting. Tamil rebels are believed to be responsible for the mortar attack.Diplomats hurt in S Lanka attack
, BBC News, February 27, 2007 The Tigers claimed they were not informed by the government that the ambassador was present and were only returning fire from the Sri Lankan Army. Blake was known to be engaged in the Sri Lankan civil society and practice what came to be known as "Public Diplomacy" which led some to label him as an interferer in internal affairs of the country.Robert Blake’s insistence on ‘equal rights’ and interference in Sri Lanka’s Internal Affairs
, The Island, May 10, 2011, 7:32 pm Blake succeeded

Richard Boucher Richard A. Boucher (born 1951 in Bethesda, Maryland) is an American diplomat who was deputy secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 2009 until 2013. He took up post on November 5, 2009. Pri ...

when he assumed his duties as the Assistant Secretary for Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on May 26, 2009,Blake, Robert, O. Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of Stat

for which he was awarded the State Department's Distinguished Service Award. He was replaced by

Nisha Desai Biswal Nisha Desai Biswal (born 1968) is an American businesswoman and public official in the United States. Biswal is the president of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) and Senior Vice President for South Asia at the United States Chamber of Comme ...

on October 23, 2013, after being nominated by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia.

Personal life

Blake earned a B.A. from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

in 1980 and an M.A. in international relations from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...

School of Advanced International Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of th ...

(SAIS) in 1984. He is married to Sofia Blake. They have three daughters.

References

1st Interview with Journalist Kevin Jacobs in Sri Lanka January 2007

Sources

External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Robert O. Jr. 1957 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Indonesia Ambassadors of the United States to Sri Lanka Ambassadors of the United States to the Maldives Harvard College alumni Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni United States Foreign Service personnel 21st-century American diplomats