Theodore Allegra

Acting Deputy Coordinator, Regional and Trans-Regional Affairs Directorate
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism

Theodore Allegra is a career diplomatic and consular officer of the United States. He is Director for Regional Affairs in the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, where he directs a team of 16 officers in developing counterterrorism strategies and policies for theaters of terrorist operations worldwide. As part of his responsibilities, he has developed a series of regional initiatives to focus USG interagency activities and enhance cooperation with partner nations in areas such as terrorist transit, radicalization, and terrorist financing.

Previously, he was Deputy Director of Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, where he was responsible for management and policy issues for countries ranging from Australia to a dozen Pacific Island states, including three former U.S. trust territories. Before that, he was Deputy Consul General and Chief of American Citizen Services at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines, where he managed a series of crises involving Americans including terrorism, kidnappings, natural disasters, and crime.

Prior to his assignment to Manila, Mr. Allegra was the Chief of the Political Section at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh. There, he was active in several domestic political developments during the tumultuous period following Cambodia’s 1998 national elections, including significant human rights and refugee issues and efforts to establish a tribunal for the atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge period.

Mr. Allegra entered the Foreign Service in 1991 and was assigned for two years to the U.S. Consulate General in Karachi, Pakistan. He then returned to Washington to work in the State Department’s Executive Secretariat, where he coordinated East Asia issues for the Secretary of State and frequently traveled overseas to prepare for visits of the Secretary and the Secretary’s participation in the President’s foreign travel. In 1995, he was assigned to the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs, where he formulated and implemented U.S. policies on Hong Kong in the run-up to its reversion to Chinese sovereignty.

During his Foreign Service career, Mr. Allegra has received five individual Superior Honor Awards and has figured in four group Superior Honor Awards. He also received the Department of State’s Award for Exceptional Achievement in Human Rights and Democracy for his work in Cambodia.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Allegra spent eight years in the private practice of law in Colorado. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado, a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver, and a Master of Laws in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University.

Regional and Trans-Regional Affairs Directorate Page

Released on June 25, 2008