Geoffrey R. Pyatt

Geoffrey Ross Pyatt (born 1963)[2] is the United States Ambassador to Greece and former ambassador to Ukraine. On May 19, 2016, he was nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama to serve as United States Ambassador to Greece.[3] He was confirmed as the Ambassador to Greece on July 14, 2016. Pyatt's U.S. State Department career landed him posts in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.[4]

Geoffrey Pyatt
United States Ambassador to Greece
Assumed office
October 24, 2016
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byDavid Pearce
8th United States Ambassador to Ukraine
In office
July 30, 2013 – August 18, 2016[1]
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJohn Tefft
Succeeded byMarie Yovanovitch
Personal details
Born1963 (age 56–57)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Spouse(s)Mary
ChildrenWilliam
Claire
Alma materUniversity of California, Irvine
Yale University

Early life and education

Pyatt was born 1963 in La Jolla, a suburb of San Diego, California.[2] He received his bachelor's degree in political studies in 1985 at the University of California, Irvine, and a master's degree in international relations at Yale University in 1987.[2][5]

Career

Pyatt started his diplomatic career in Honduras from 1990 until 1992 as vice-consul and economic officer in Tegucigalpa.[2] He was deputy chief of diplomatic mission in India in 2006 and 2007.[2] After that he worked as deputy chief of U.S. mission to International Atomic Energy Agency and other international organizations in Vienna.[2] Pyatt served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs from May 2010 until July 2013.[2][4]

Pyatt took the Oath of Office of United States Ambassador to Ukraine on July 30, 2013 in the Harry S Truman Building of the US State Department in Washington, D.C.[2] Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych accepted Pyatt's credentials on August 15, 2013.[4] After his appointment, Pyatt started actively studying the Ukrainian language.[2] On October 15, 2013 Pyatt attended an international conference on fighting anti-Semitism in Kiev, but could not address the audience at the event due to the United States federal government shutdown of 2013.[6]

Pyatt became part of a diplomatic scandal in January 2014, when his conversation with the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State, Victoria Nuland, was apparently intercepted and uploaded to YouTube.[7][8][9]

Assistant Secretary Victoria Nuland and Geoffrey Pyatt greet Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko before he met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Warsaw, Poland, on June 4, 2014

Pyatt supported the 2014 Ukrainian revolution against Ukraine's President Victor Yanukovych.[7][10] Pyatt characterised pro-Russian separatist rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk as "terrorists".[11]

On September 25, 2015, during his speech at Odesa Financial Forum, Pyatt criticized Ukrainian Prosecutor's office.

On May 19, 2016, he was nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama to serve as United States Ambassador to Greece. He was replaced by Marie L. Yovanovitch in Ukraine.[12] He was confirmed as the Ambassador to Greece on July 14, 2016. He was sworn in September 2016. He presented his credentials on October 24, 2016.

References
  1. New U.S. ambassador expected in Kyiv next week, UNIAN (20 August 2016)
  2. "Welcome, Mr. Pyatt!", Den, 5 August 2013.
  3. "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts", White House, May 19, 2016.
  4. "Yanukovych accepts credentials from new US ambassador, discusses with him Ukrainian-US relations", Interfax-Ukraine (15 August 2013)
  5. Biography, U.S. State Department
  6. "Ambassador Pyatt decides not to speak at public events in Kyiv due to US government shutdown", Interfax-Ukraine, 15 October 2013.
  7. "Ukraine crisis: Leaked phone call embarrasses US". BBC News. February 6, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  8. Re Post (February 4, 2014). "Марионетки Майдана" [Puppets (in the) Public Square]. YouTube. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  9. "Ukraine crisis: Transcript of leaked Nuland-Pyatt call". BBC News. February 7, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  10. "Ukraine’s parliament votes to oust president; former prime minister is freed from prison". The Washington Post. February 22, 2014.
  11. Voice of America, Q&A with US Amb. Geoffrey Pyatt: Ukraine Crisis Escalates as War Fears Grow, 14 April 2014.
  12. "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts" (Press release). White House Press Office. May 19, 2016.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
John Tefft		 United States Ambassador to Ukraine
2013–2016		 Succeeded by
Marie Yovanovitch
Preceded by
David Pearce		 United States Ambassador to Greece
2016–present		 Incumbent
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