Jeffrey Davidow
Jeffrey Davidow | |
---|---|
United States Ambassador to Venezuela | |
In office October 1, 1993 – May 16, 1996 | |
President | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | Michael Martin Skol |
Succeeded by | John F. Keane |
Personal details | |
Born | Boston, Massachusetts | January 26, 1944
Political party | Democratic |
Jeffrey S. Davidow (born January 26, 1944) is a career foreign service officer from the U.S. state of Virginia. Davidow has served as a member of the Senior Foreign Service, as well as having been the U.S. Ambassador to Zambia,[1] Venezuela,[1] and Mexico.[2]
Upon completion of 34 years of service, he retired as the highest ranking U.S. diplomat. Davidow was one of the few people to hold the rank of
Early life
Davidow was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He received a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts in 1965 and an MA from the University of Minnesota in 1967. He also did postgraduate work in India 1968 on a Fulbright travel grant.
Career
Davidow joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1969 and began his career as a junior officer at the American Embassy in
He later became the head of the liaison office at the U.S. Embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 1979 to 1982. He returned shortly thereafter to pursue a fellowship at Harvard University, as well as to take-over as Director of the Office of Southern African Affairs in 1985.
On May 5, 1988, President Ronald Reagan nominated Davidow to be U.S. Ambassador to Zambia, a position he held until 1990.[5]
After his ambassadorship to Zambia, he served as deputy assistant secretary of state.[6]
In 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated Davidow to be U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela. Davidow remained ambassador until 1996.
From 1996 to 1998, he was the State Department's chief policy maker for the Western Hemisphere, serving in the position of
Clinton again nominated Davidow in 1998, this time as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. Davidow held this post from August 5, 1998, until September 14, 2002.[7]
After leaving Mexico in September 2002, he returned to Harvard to become a visiting fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. During the 2002–03 academic year, he worked extensively with undergraduate and graduate students and wrote a book on U.S.–Mexican relations. The US and Mexico: The Bear and the Porcupine[8] was first published in Spanish in Mexico by Casa Editorial Grijalbo and in English by Markus Weiner Publishers in April 2004.
Davidow assumed the presidency of the Institute of the Americas on June 1, 2003. The Institute of the Americas, founded in 1983, is an independent, non-profit institution at the University of California, San Diego. Its mission is to be a catalyst for promoting development and integration as a means to improve the economic, political, and social well-being of the people of the Americas.
In 2004, Davidow was among 27 retired diplomats and military commanders called Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change who publicly said the administration of President George W. Bush did not understand the world and was unable to handle "in either style or substance" the responsibilities of global leadership.[9] On June 16, 2004 the former senior diplomats and military commanders issued a statement against the Iraq War.[10]
He has also served as adviser to President Barack Obama for the Summit of the Americas.[11] He is also a member of the advisory board for the Mexico Institute.
Personal life
Davidow and his wife, Joan, reside in
References
- ^ a b "Clinton Is Near a Selection for Mexico Post". The New York Times. January 7, 1998. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ Bob Deans (January 7, 1998). "Clinton's pick for Mexican envoy praised". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ "Career Ambassadors". United States Department of State. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ "A Head of State should not solicit hatred and resentment". El Universal (Caracas). August 10, 2009. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1988/050588d.htm
- ^ "Unita to leave captured towns". The Independent. December 21, 1992. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ "Changing the guard: U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow heads home. (Spotlight)". Business Mexico. October 1, 2002. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ Starr, Alexandra (August 17, 2004). "Migrant Headaches". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ Brownstein, Ronald (June 13, 2004). "Retired Officials Say Bush Must Go". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
- ^ Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change Official Statement Archived October 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine (June 16, 2004)
- ^ "Fidel Castro Meets With 3 U.S. Lawmakers". CBS News. April 7, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2010.