Skip Links
U.S. Department of State
Department Releases International Religi...  |  Daily Press Briefing | What's NewU.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of State
SEARCHU.S. Department of State
Subject IndexBookmark and Share
U.S. Department of State
HomeHot Topics, press releases, publications, info for journalists, and morepassports, visas, hotline, business support, trade, and morecountry names, regions, embassies, and morestudy abroad, Fulbright, students, teachers, history, and moreforeign service, civil servants, interns, exammission, contact us, the Secretary, org chart, biographies, and more
Video
 You are in: Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs > Bureau of Public Affairs > Bureau of Public Affairs: Electronic Information and Publications Office > Biographies > Biographies Listed Alphabetically by Last Name 
Picture of Peter CianchetteBIOGRAPHY

Peter Cianchette
Ambassador, Costa Rica
Term of Appointment: 05/08/2008 to present

Peter Cianchette was sworn in on May 8, 2008, as the new U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica. Prior to this, Mr Cianchette was Maine’s National Republican Committeeman and served as the Maine General Chairman of the Bush-Cheney ’04 campaign. In 2002, he was the Republican nominee for governor of Maine. Mr. Cianchette is president of The Cianchette Group, a public affairs management and business consulting firm. He is also a partner in the Portland-based private investment firm, CHK Capital Partners.

Mr. Cianchette has more than 20 years of business experience, from serving as a senior executive in one of Maine's top manufacturing companies, the Dragon Products Company, a leading manufacturer of cement and concrete to running his own business, Cianchette Enterprises, Inc., which owned and operated Initial Staffing Services, an employee staffing, recruiting, and placement company. In 1998, he joined one of the state's top business and public affairs consulting firms, Pierce Atwood Consulting, where he served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice-President.

Mr. Cianchette also served in Maine's state legislature from 1996-2000, representing South Portland and Cape Elizabeth in Maine's House of Representatives. In Augusta, he served on the Joint Standing Committee on Taxation.

Mr. Cianchette currently serves as a Director on the Boards of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine and YES! to Youth. He also serves on the George and Barbara Bush Maine Cultural Center Committee, the Finance Committee of the American Lighthouse Foundation, and as a MaineHealth Corporator. He has served as Director of the Greater Portland Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Boy Scouts of America/Pine Tree Council, the Portland Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Maine Community College Foundation. He has also served as President of the Maine Better Transportation Association, and as Chair of the Maine Advancement Program.

Mr. Cianchette earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration at the University of Maine.



Released on May 13, 2008

  Back to top

U.S. Department of State
USA.govU.S. Department of StateUpdates  |  Frequent Questions  |  Contact Us  |  Email this Page  |  Subject Index  |  Search
The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.
About state.gov  |  Privacy Notice  |  FOIA  |  Copyright Information  |  Other U.S. Government Information

Published by the U.S. Department of State Website at http://www.state.gov maintained by the Bureau of Public Affairs.