Deputy Chief Of Mission

Deputy Chief of Mission Eric Nelson

Eric Nelson is the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica. From 2006-2009, Mr. Nelson served as the U.S. Consul General in Munich, Germany. As Consul General, he worked to expand and strengthen partnerships between Bavaria and the United States, focusing on security cooperation, citizen diplomacy, and commercial ties. His leadership in the usage of new media technologies won honorable mention in 2009 from the State Department’s Innovation in the Use of Technology Award committee. Mr. Nelson also received the “IDIZEM Dialogue Prize 2008” in Munich in recognition of his engagement for inter-religious and intercultural dialogue.

Immediately prior to this assignment, he served as Deputy Management Counselor in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Since joining the Foreign Service in 1990, Mr. Nelson has also served in Washington, D.C., Milan, Mexico City, Frankfurt and Santo Domingo. He has received the Department of State's Superior Honor Award three times and the Meritorious Honor Award seven times.

Mr. Nelson began his career in public service as a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching math and science in Liberia, West Africa from 1984-1985. Before joining the Foreign Service, he was a marketing and finance consultant to U.S. Agency for International Development projects in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Liberia.

Mr. Nelson, a resident of Texas, graduated from Rice University of Houston, Texas, in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. In 1988, Mr. Nelson received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He is fluent in Spanish, German and Italian.