Harry K. Thomas Jr.

Harry Keels Thomas Jr.[1] (born June 3, 1956 in the Harlem section of New York City[2]) is an American diplomat. He served as the United States Ambassador to Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Zimbabwe.

This article is about the US Ambassador to the Zimbabwe. For the Washington D.C. Councillor, see Harry Thomas Jr. For other individuals named Harry Thomas, see Harry Thomas (disambiguation).
Harry Thomas
United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe
In office
February 25, 2016 – March 25, 2018
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byDavid Wharton
Succeeded byBrian A. Nichols
United States Ambassador to the Philippines
In office
April 27, 2010 – October 16, 2013
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byKristie Kenney
Succeeded byPhilip Goldberg
Director General of the Foreign Service
In office
September 21, 2007 – June 24, 2009
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byGeorge Staples
Succeeded byNancy Powell
Executive Secretary to the Department of State
In office
July 25, 2005 – July 27, 2007
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byKarl Hofmann
Succeeded byDaniel Smith
United States Ambassador to Bangladesh
In office
August 14, 2003 – July 2, 2005
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byMary Peters
Succeeded byPatricia Butenis
Personal details
Born
Harry Keels Thomas Jr.

(1956-06-03) June 3, 1956
New York City, New York, U.S.
Spouse(s)Ericka Ovette
Mithi Aquino
ChildrenCasey Merie
Alma materCollege of the Holy Cross
Columbia University

Career

Thomas joined the Foreign Service in 1984. His early postings included service in the US embassies in New Delhi, India; Harare, Zimbabwe; Kaduna, Nigeria; and Lima, Peru.[3] He also served as Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State, Director General of the U.S. Foreign Service, Director of the State Department Operations Center, and Special Assistant to the then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.[4]

He served as United States Ambassador to Bangladesh (serving from 2003 to 2005) and Director General of the United States Foreign Service (serving from 2007 to 2009), Thomas was designated by US President Barack Obama on November 19, 2009 to replace Kristie Kenney as Ambassador to the Philippines—the first African American to serve at that post.[4] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 19, 2010[3] and presented his credentials to Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on April 27, 2010[5] He was then nominated and confirmed as the United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe on October 22, 2015.[6] He was sworn in on December 8, 2015.[7] He returned to the United States from Zimbabwe on March 25, 2018 planning to retire from the Foreign Service.[8]

Education

Thomas is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and earned his Master's of Science in Urban Planning at Columbia University. He also has an honorary doctorate from Loyola University Maryland, where he delivered the commencement address in May 2010.[3]

Controversy
Thomas (left) with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Joseph Burns (middle) and President Benigno S. Aquino III (right).

In September 2011 Thomas sparked outrage – while in post as Ambassador to the Philippines – by making the remark that "40% of male tourists to the Philippines go there for sex tourism", without publicly presenting evidence for this remark.[9] He subsequently made a public apology to the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines.

Foreign languages

Thomas speaks Spanish, Hindi, Tagalog, and Bengali.

Awards and honours

Foreign honours

References
  1. "Harry Keels Thomas Jr. (1956–)". U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. October 16, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  2. Michael Reardon (2007). "THE PROFILE: Harry K. Thomas Jr., '78". Alumni/Advancement. Holy Cross Magazine. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  3. Press release (March 23, 2010). "U.S. Senate Confirms Nomination of Harry K. Thomas Jr. as Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines" (PDF). Embassy of the United States of America, Manila. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-01. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
  4. Agence France-Presse (November 20, 2009). "Obama names envoys to RP, Singapore". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2009-11-23.
  5. Beth Day Romulo (May 11, 2010). "Welcome to Ambassador Thomas". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2010-05-13. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
  6. October 2015 Senate Periodical Press Gallery
  7. ""Ambassador-Designate Harry K. Thomas Jr.", United States Department of State, December 23, 2015". Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  8. "US Ambassador snubs Mugabe". Southern Times. March 23, 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
  9. "US ambassador to Philippines apologises for sex tourism remark". The Guardian. October 8, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2013.

Harry K. Thomas Jr. on Twitter

Media related to Harry K. Thomas, Jr. at Wikimedia Commons

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Mary Peters		 United States Ambassador to Bangladesh
2003–2005		 Succeeded by
Patricia Butenis
Preceded by
Karl Hofmann		 Executive Secretary to the Department of State
2005–2007		 Succeeded by
Daniel Smith
Preceded by
George Staples		 Director General of the Foreign Service
2007–2009		 Succeeded by
Nancy Powell
Preceded by
Kristie Kenney		 United States Ambassador to the Philippines
2010–2013		 Succeeded by
Philip Goldberg
Preceded by
David Wharton		 United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe
2016–2018		 Succeeded by
Brian A. Nichols
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