Eric P. Whitaker has been assigned as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy to Niger since August 2008.
Born in Illinois, he entered the Foreign Service in 1990, with service at diplomatic missions in South Korea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Mali, and Mozambique, as well as in the Department as a Trade Policy Officer in EB and as a Weinberg Fellow at Princeton University. From 2005-2007 he served as Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs in Khartoum, Sudan and subsequently as Team Leader heading an Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team in Baghdad from 2007-2008.
Prior to joining the Department of State, Mr. Whitaker served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines and in municipal management in California. He has an MS degree in Community Health Education, an MPA in Public Management, and an MPP in Public Policy.