James Bishop (diplomat)

James Keough Bishop Jr. (born July 21, 1938) is an American Foreign Service Officer, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Niger (1979–81), Liberia (1987-90), and Somalia (1990–91).

James Bishop
right, 1987
Born (1938-07-21) July 21, 1938
New Rochelle, New York
NationalityAmerican
OccupationDiplomat
Years active1960-1993[1]:4, 117
Known forU.S. Ambassador to Niger (1979-81), Liberia (1987-90), and Somalia (1990-91)

Bishop's last ambassadorial posting to Somalia ended in a rescue by the U.S. military in Operation Eastern Exit, when the embassy came under threat as a result of military action in the Somali Civil War.

Biography

Early life and education

Bishop was born July 21, 1938 in New Rochelle, New York[2] to James Keough Bishop Sr. and Dorothy (née O'Keefe).[3] He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross (B.S., 1960) and Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (M.I.I.P., 1981).[2][4]

Diplomatic career

After graduating from college in 1960, Bishop entered the Foreign Service in 1960, where he held the following diplomatic positions:

  • press officer at the Department of State, 1961–63
  • vice consul in Auckland, New Zealand, 1963–66
  • consul in Beirut, Lebanon, 1966
  • economic officer in Beirut, Lebanon, 1966–68
  • economic officer in Yaoundé, Cameroon, 1968–70
  • desk officer for Chad, Gabon, Mauritius and Madagascar, 1970–72
  • desk officer for Ghana and Togo, 1972–74
  • Deputy Director for West Africa at the Department of State, 1974–76
  • Director of North African Affairs at the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs at the Department of State, 1977–79
  • Ambassador to the Republic of Niger, 1979–81
  • Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs at the Department of State, 1981–87
  • Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia, 1987-90[4]
  • Ambassador to the Somali Democratic Republic, 1990-91[5]
  • Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, 1991-93[1][6]

Bishop retired from the Foreign Service in 1993.[1]

Personal life

Bishop and his wife Kathleen (d. 2011)[7] have six children.[3][4] Bishop and his first wife, Anne Richardson (d. 2012), have three children and two grandchildren.[8] He is Roman Catholic.[1]

References
  1. Kennedy, Charles (1998). "Ambassador James K. Bishop, Jr" (PDF). The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  2. Reagan, Ronald. "Nomination of James Keough Bishop To Be United States Ambassador to Liberia". Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum & Library.
  3. James Keough Bishop, Obituary, New York Times, April 9, 2006
  4. Nomination of James Keough Bishop To Be United States Ambassador to Somalia, April 19, 1990, White House press release
  5. James Keough Bishop (1938–), U.S. Dept. of State
  6. U.S. MEMO REVEALS DISPUTE ON BOSNIA, New York Times, June 25, 1993
  7. "Kathleen K. Bishop". Washington Post. October 14, 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  8. https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=ann-b-richardson&pid=157109524
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Charles A. James		 United States Ambassador to Niger
1979-81		 Succeeded by
William Robert Casey Jr.
Preceded by
Edward J. Perkins		 United States Ambassador to Liberia
1987–90		 Succeeded by
Peter Jon de Vos
Preceded by
T. Frank Crigler		 United States Ambassador to Somalia
1990–91		 Succeeded by
Stephen Schwartz
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