Brian W. Shukan

Brian W. Shukan is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister Counselor, and has been the U.S. Chief of Mission in Khartoum in October 2019. Before that, he served as Director of the Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan at the U.S. Department of State and from 2014-2017 as Chargé d’Affaires[1] and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. From 2011 to 2014, Shukan served as Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Casablanca, Morocco.[2] He has been considered the top State Department official in Washington on Sudan.[3]

Brian Shukan official photo

Personal life

Shukan was raised in Longmeadow, Massachusetts.[4]

He received a BA in history and philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a JD from Washington University in St. Louis, and an MA in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College.[2]

Tenure in Sudan

The U.S. named Sudan a state sponsor of terrorism in 1993, when Omar al-Bashir was President of Sudan. Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok “has repeatedly urged the West to end his country’s international pariah status ... (saying) it’s the only way to save the nation’s fragile democratic transition from a plunging economy.”[5] By lifting sanctions, Sudan would be eligible for loans from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. It has been said “Sudan needs up to $8 billion in foreign aid in the next two years and another $2 billion deposited as reserves to shore up the local currency.”[5]

To that end, Sudanese Assistant Undersecretary Elham Ahmed med with Shukan in October 2019 and “found herself repeating the same demand ... asking for a U.S. plan to end the designation.” On November 3, 2019, Shukan told Sudanese Foreign Minister Asma Abdalla “that there are attempts to remove Sudan from the U.S. list but that this ‘requires some time.’”.[5] On October 31, 2019, Donald Trump renewed the state of national emergency on Sudan, keeping it on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST).[6]

References
  1. "Chargé d'Affaires Shukan Departs Haiti". US Embassy in Haiti. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  2. "Chargé d'Affaires Brian Shukan". US Embassy in Sudan. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  3. Lynch, Justin; Gramer, Robbie (April 8, 2019). "How Two U.S. Presidents Reshaped America's Policy Toward Sudan". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  4. Westhoff, Ben (February 1, 2013). "Of All the Consulates, in All the World". The Source. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  5. Magdy, Samy (November 6, 2019). "Stuck on US terror list, Sudan turns to wealthy Gulf for aid". Federal News Network. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  6. "U.S. diplomat clarifies Trump decision to extend state of emergency on Sudan". Sudan Tribune. November 4, 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
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