John R. Bass

John Bass
United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
Assumed office
December 12, 2017
President Donald Trump
Preceded by Hugo Llorens
United States Ambassador to Turkey
In office
October 20, 2014[1] – October 15, 2017[2]
President Barack Obama
Deputy Philip Kosnett
Preceded by Francis J. Ricciardone Jr.
Succeeded by Philip Kosnett
(Chargé d'Affaires a.i)
Executive Secretary of the Department of State
In office
October 8, 2012 – July 18, 2014
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Stephen Mull
Succeeded by Joseph Macmanus
United States Ambassador to Georgia
In office
October 16, 2009 – July 17, 2012
President Barack Obama
Preceded by John F. Tefft
Succeeded by Richard Norland
Personal details
Born 1964 (age 53–54)
New York, U.S.
Spouse(s) Holly Holzer Bass[3]
Alma mater Syracuse University

John Rodney Bass II[4] (born 1964) is the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan. He was the U.S. ambassador to Turkey 2014–2017 and the U.S. ambassador to Georgia 2009–2012.

President Donald Trump named him as his choice to become the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan on July 20, 2017.[5] On September 28, 2017, his nomination was confirmed by the Senate.[6]

Career

Bass's Ambassador portrait during the Obama administration

Bass is from upstate New York.[1] He graduated from Syracuse University in 1986 and was a newspaper editor and political campaign consultant before joining the Foreign Service in 1988. Shortly after, he was posted to Belgium, the Netherlands and Chad.[3]

In 1998, he work for Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, first as a special assistant for Europe and Eurasia and was part of the peace negotiations in the Kosovo War. He was later named as Talbott’s chief of staff in 2000, coordinating policy on arms reduction with Russia.[3]

In 2005, Bass was named director of the State Department Operations Center. He was sent to Iraq in 2008 as the leader of a provincial reconstruction team.[3] He speaks Italian and French.[1]

In October 2012, he was appointed Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State and served as the liaison between the State Department's many bureaus and the leadership offices of the Secretary, the Deputy Secretaries, and the Director of Policy Planning.

In October 2017, after the U.S. decided to suspend non-immigrant visa services within Turkey, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the Turkish government would no longer recognize Bass's authority as a U.S. ambassador. The cancellation of visitor visas came after a Turkish court ordered the arrest of an employee of the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul.[7][8]

After the suspension of visa services in Turkey, Bass published a statement on YouTube.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ambassador Biography". Embassy of the United States Ankara, Turkey. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Former Ambassadors". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Turkey. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "U.S. Ambassador to Turkey: Who Is John R. Bass?". ALLGOV. August 10, 2014.
  4. ↑ "PN962 — Foreign Service". U.S. Congress. April 27, 1988. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  5. ↑ Bowden, John (July 20, 2017). "Trump to nominate Turkey envoy for ambassador to Afghanistan". The Hill. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  6. ↑ Lardner, Richard. "Senate confirms Huntsman as US ambassador to Russia". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  7. ↑ Tuysuz, Gul; Koran, Laura (October 10, 2017). "Erdogan: Turkey does not recognize US ambassador after visa spat". CNN. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  8. ↑ Cunningham, Erin; Fahim, Kareen (October 8, 2017). "U.S. and Turkey announce tit-for-tat travel restrictions, a sign of deteriorating alliance". Washington Post. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  9. ↑ Ambassador John Bass's statement on the suspension of visa services in Turkey on YouTube
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
John Tefft		 United States Ambassador to Georgia
2009–2012		 Succeeded by
Richard Norland
Preceded by
Francis Ricciardone		 United States Ambassador to Turkey
2014–2017		 Succeeded by
Philip Kosnett
(Chargé d'Affaires a.i)
Preceded by
P. Michael McKinley		 United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
2017–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Stephen Mull		 Executive Secretary of the Department of State
2012–2014		 Succeeded by
Joseph Macmanus
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