Ronald E. Neumann

Ronald E. Neumann
United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
In office
June 27, 2005 – April 10, 2007
President George W. Bush
Preceded by Zalmay Khalilzad
Succeeded by William Braucher Wood
United States Ambassador to Bahrain
In office
September 17, 2001 – June 7, 2004
President George W. Bush
Preceded by Johnny Young
Succeeded by William T. Monroe
United States Ambassador to Algeria
In office
July 5, 1994 – September 19, 1997
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by Mary Ann Casey
Succeeded by Cameron R. Hume
Personal details
Born 1945
Profession Diplomat, Career Ambassador

Ronald E. Neumann (born 1945) is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan (2005–2007), Bahrain (2001–2004) and Algeria (1994–1997). He is the son of former ambassador Robert G. Neumann and traveled extensively after college in Afghanistan while his father was ambassador there. Both he and his father served in diplomatic posts in Afghanistan precedented only by one other father/son pair, John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams who both served as Ministers to Britain. He pronounces his last name Newmann (without the Germanic neu) and his name is sometimes seen spelled that way.

Career

Amb. Neumann joined the United States Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer in 1970. His first posting was in Senegal, but in 1973 he served in Tabriz, Iran, and thereafter specialized in the Middle East, and Persian Gulf in particular. He also served in the United Arab Emirates. In 1991, while he was Director of the Iran Iraq office (Director of Northern Gulf Affairs), Neumann was involved in overseeing Kurdish refugees in the Middle East.

In 1994 he was made Ambassador to Algeria,[1] in part because of his Middle East experience, and served in that capacity until 1997.[1] He subsequently was made Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.

In 2000, he was selected to become ambassador to Bahrain, but the Senate did not confirm him immediately and during the delay he was found to be involved in a minor security scandal involving the mishandling of classified materials. He was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing and newly elected President George W. Bush approved his appointment in 2001.

He was ambassador to Bahrain when the embassy there was closed temporarily due to attacks in April 2002 from pro-Palestinian protestors. No one was hurt in the protest although buildings were damaged and vehicles were set on fire.

In 2004, he left Bahrain to serve as a United States political advisor in Iraq and served in that position until he was made ambassador to Afghanistan in 2005. He was sworn in on July 27, 2005 and presented his credentials to Afghan President Hamid Karzai on August 1, 2005.[1] He retained that post until 2007.

Neumann currently serves as the president of the American Academy of Diplomacy, a Washington, DC-based think tank.

In 2009 he authored The Other War: Winning and Losing in Afghanistan, a book exploring political and military issues of Afghanistan.

He speaks Arabic, French, and some Persian.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ronald E. Neumann Presents Credentials to President Hamid Karzai", U.S. Department of State website, August 1, 2005.

Sources

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Mary Ann Casey		 United States Ambassador to Algeria
1994–1997 		Succeeded by
Cameron R. Hume
Preceded by
Johnny Young		 United States Ambassador to Bahrain
2001–2004 		Succeeded by
William T. Monroe
Preceded by
Zalmay Khalilzad		 United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
2005–2007 		Succeeded by
William Braucher Wood
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 2/17/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.