BIOGRAPHY Harry K. Thomas, Jr. Director General, Foreign Service and Director, Human Resources Term of Appointment: 09/21/2007 to present

Ambassador Thomas, of New York, is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and served most recently as a Special Assistant to the Secretary and Executive Secretary of the Department. Mr. Thomas, who joined the Foreign Service in 1984, served as U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh from 2003 to 2005. He also served in the White House as the Director for South Asia at the National Security Council from 2001 to 2002. His other postings include: New Delhi, India; Harare, Zimbabwe; Kaduna, Nigeria; and Lima, Peru. He has served as Senior Watch Officer, Deputy Director, and Director of the State Department Operations Center; Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs; and Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs.

Ambassador Thomas speaks Spanish, Hindi, and Bangla. He has received many awards including the Arnold Raphel Award for leadership, motivation, and mentoring of colleagues. Ambassador Thomas is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and pursued further study at Columbia University.