Richard M. Mills Jr.

Richard Merrill Mills Jr. (born February 23, 1959)[3] is an American diplomat who currently serves as the United States Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations. He previously served as the U.S. Chargé d'Affaires for Canada.[4]

Richard Mills
Chargé d’Affaires of the United States to the United Nations
Assumed office
January 20, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byKelly Craft
United States Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations
Assumed office
November 9, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byJonathan Cohen
U.S. Chargé d'Affaires for Canada
In office
August 23, 2019 – November 9, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byKelly Craft (as Ambassador)
Succeeded byKatherine Brucker
United States Ambassador to Armenia
In office
February 15, 2015 – October 17, 2018
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byJohn A. Heffern
Succeeded byLynne M. Tracy
Personal details
Born
Richard Merrill Mills Jr.[1]

(1959-02-23) February 23, 1959[2]
Louisiana, U.S.
EducationGeorgetown University (BA)
University of Texas, Austin (JD)
National Defense University (MS)

Early life and education

Mills was born in Louisiana and grew up in Michigan. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University, Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law, and an Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University.

Career

Prior to his Foreign Service career, Mills was an Associate Attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Duncan, Allen and Mitchell, as well at the Washington, D.C. office of Wickwire, Gavin and Gibbs.

Mills' first tour as a Foreign Service Officer was at the U.S. embassy in Paris in 1988, where he served as a consular officer and staff assistant to Ambassador Walter Curley.[5] He has had assignments in the Executive Secretariat at the Department of State (1996–1998), Dublin (1999–2001), the United States Mission to the United Nations in New York City (2001–2003), Islamabad (2003–2004), Riyadh (2005–2006), London (2006–2009), Baghdad (2009–2010), and Valletta (2010–2012).[6][5] He then served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. embassy in Beirut, from 2012 to 2014.[6][5]

During his career, Mills has also served in the Office of Legislative Affairs, at the U.S. Consulate in Saint Petersburg, and in the now-defunct Bureau of Soviet Union Affairs.[6][5]

Mills was a nominee for the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Year Award in 2012 and has received nine Superior Honor Awards from the Department of State. He speaks fluent French and conversational Russian.[6]

In July 2014, Mills was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the United States Ambassador to Armenia, a position in which he served until October 2018.[7][8]

In November 2018, Mills assumed the position of Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of the United States in Ottawa. Following the resignation of Ambassador Kelly Craft in August 2019, he became the acting Ambassador to Canada, with the title of Chargé d'affaires. In January 2020, Mills was nominated to be the next United States Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, again serving under Kelly Craft; he was confirmed by the Senate on August 6, 2020.[9] He arrived on November 8, 2020.[10]

Mills holds the personal rank of Minister-Counselor in the United States Senior Foreign Service.

Previous roles in the Foreign Service
  • Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France (1988–1990)
  • Desk Officer in the Bureau of Soviet Union Affairs (1990–1993)
  • Political Officer at the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg, Russia (1993–1995)
  • Legislative Affairs Officer at the Office of Legislative Affairs (1995–1996)
  • Line Director in the Executive Secretariat at the Department of State (1996–1998)
  • Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Dublin, Ireland (1999–2001)
  • Political Officer at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York (2001–2003)
  • Deputy Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan (2003–2004)
  • Energy Attaché and Acting Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2005–2006)
  • Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in London, England (2006–2009)
  • Senior Democracy Advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq (2009–2010)
  • Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Valletta, Malta (2010–2012)
  • Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon (2012–2014)
  • Ambassador to Armenia (2015–2018)

Personal life

Mills is married to Leigh Gabrielle Carter, a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer.[6] They were married on October 18, 1991 in Arlington, Virginia.[2]

See also

References
  1. "PN962 — Foreign Service". U.S. Congress. April 27, 1988. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  2. "Marriage Return". Department of Health, Division of Vital Statistics (91–053870). Commonwealth of Virginia. October 21, 1991.
  3. "Richard M. Mills Jr. - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov.
  4. "Chargé d'Affaires Richard Mills Jr". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Canada. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  5. "U.S. Ambassador to Armenia: Who Is Richard Mills?". AllGov. October 12, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  6. "U.S. Ambassador to Armenia". Embassy of the United States, Yerevan. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  7. Mills, Richard M. (October 9, 2018). "Farewell Speech As Prepared Ambassador Richard M. Mills". am.usembassy.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  8. "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". The White House. July 10, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  9. "PN1340 — Richard M. Mills Jr. — Department of State". U.S. Congress. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  10. "Welcome Ambassador Richard M. Mills, U.S. Deputy Representative to the United Nations". United States Mission to the United Nations. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
John Heffern		 United States Ambassador to Armenia
2015–2018		 Succeeded by
Lynne M. Tracy
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.