Ambassador North's Biography

Dec 03, 2012

Ambassador Walter North

Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu

Ambassador Walter North is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service holding the rank of Career Minister.  He was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea on November 7, 2012.   Prior to that, Ambassador North served as the Mission Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Egypt.

He served as the mission director in India, Indonesia and Zambia.  His other overseas postings include Ethiopia and Bangladesh.

Ambassador North held a number of positions at USAID's Washington headquarters including as assistant administrator for the Bureau for Africa, senior deputy assistant administrator for the Bureau for Asia and the Near East, and senior deputy assistant administrator for the Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination, which included responsibility for the Agency’s budget. He has also served with the Offices of East Asian Affairs and East African Affairs.

Ambassador North has a master’s in public administration from Harvard University and a law degree from the George Washington University. He did his undergraduate studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.