Ambassador William R. Brownfield was sworn in as Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs on January 10, 2011. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Brownfield served as U.S. Ambassador to Colombia from August 2007 until August 2010.
Before serving in Colombia, Ambassador Brownfield served as U.S. Ambassador to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Republic of Chile. His first assignment after joining the Foreign Service in 1979 was in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Ambassador Brownfield’s other overseas postings also include Counselor for Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva and assignments in Argentina and El Salvador. He was temporarily assigned as Political Adviser to the Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Southern Command in Panama 1989-90.
In Washington, Ambassador Brownfield’s assignments have included Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA), Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), Executive Assistant in the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, Member of the Secretary’s Policy Planning Staff, and Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs.
Ambassador Brownfield is a graduate of Cornell University (1974) and the National War College (1993); he also attended the University of Texas School of Law (1976-78). He speaks Spanish and French. He is a native of the State of Texas.
