James F. Moriarty

James Francis Moriarty
Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan
Incumbent
Assumed office October 2016
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Raymond Burghardt
United States Ambassador to Bangladesh
In office March 26, 2008 – June 17, 2011
President	George W. Bush Barack Obama
Preceded by	Patricia A. Butenis
Succeeded by	Dan Mozena
United States Ambassador to Nepal
In office July 16, 2004 – May 22, 2007
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Michael E. Malinowski
Succeeded by	Nancy J. Powell
Personal details
Born	1953 (age 64–65)
Nationality	American
Spouse(s)	Lauren Moriarty
Alma mater	Dartmouth College
Profession	Career Diplomat

James Francis Moriarty (born 1953)^[1] is a United States diplomat and career foreign service officer with the rank of Minister-Counselor. From 2008 to 2011, he was the U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh. Since 2016, he has been the Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan.

Career

Prior to this assignment, Mr. Moriarty served as U.S. Ambassador to Nepal between 2004 and 2007. Before moving to Nepal, Ambassador Moriarty served in 2002–2004 as Special Assistant to the President of the United States of America and Senior Director at the National Security Council. He was responsible for advising on and coordinating U.S. policy on East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific region. Ambassador Moriarty also worked in the White House in 2001–2002 as National Security Council Director for China Affairs.

In 1998–2001, Ambassador Moriarty served as Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. In 1994–1998, he led the General Affairs (Political) Section at the American Institute in Taiwan. Ambassador Moriarty shaped the U.S. response to Chinese missile tests in the Taiwan Strait, the U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, and the ramming of a U.S. EP-3 plane off China’s Hainan Island. In these jobs and at the National Security Council, Ambassador Moriarty helped lay the groundwork for U.S.-China policy for the 21st century.

As Deputy Director of the State Department’s Office of United Nations (UN) Political Affairs in 1991–93, Ambassador Moriarty coordinated U.S. policy on UN Security Council issues. He received the American Foreign Service Association’s Rivkin Award for his principled approach to the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.

Ambassador Moriarty was Diplomat-in-Resident at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1993–94. Earlier assignments in his career included postings at the U.S. Embassies in Pakistan, Swaziland, and Morocco, additional tours in Beijing and Taipei, and work on African issues at the U.S. Department of State. He joined the Foreign Service in 1975.

Life

Ambassador Moriarty earned his Bachelor of Arts in History, summa cum laude, from Dartmouth College. He speaks Chinese, Nepali, Urdu, French and Bangla. Ambassador Moriarty is married to Lauren Moriarty, also a career diplomat, and is father to a son and a daughter.

Among his numerous awards are individual State Department Superior Honor Awards for his work in China (2000) and on Yugoslavia (1993) and two Group Superior Honor Awards. For his reporting and analysis in Pakistan, Ambassador Moriarty won the Director General’s 1987 Award as the State Department’s best reporting officer. He received a Presidential Pay Award in 2005 and, on numerous occasions, State Department Performance Pay.

References

• Biography of James F. Moriarty at the US State Department
• Presidential Nomination: James Francis Moriarty

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Biography of James F. Moriarty at the US State Department".