Richard Riley

Consul General Richard Riley

Richard Riley has been a career Foreign Service Officer for the last 19 years. He took up his position as Principal Officer/Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on October 13, 2012.

Prior to his arrival in Halifax, Richard served from 2011-2012 as the Leader of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan, where he led an interagency, multi-national team of 32 officers and local staff in implementing governance, rule of law, and economic development strategies to build the capacity of the Afghan Government. Before serving in Afghanistan, Richard was the Deputy Director of the Office of Egypt & Levant Affairs at the U.S. Department of State from 2009-2010, guiding U.S. foreign policy initiatives in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. He attended the National War College at Ft. McNair in Washington D.C. from 2008-2009, graduating as a Distinguished Graduate. From 2006 to 2008, Richard served two tours of duty in Iraq, first as the leader of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Dhi Qar province, southern Iraq (2006-2007), and as the Senior Coordinator for Democracy & Human Rights at the Embassy in Baghdad (2007-2008). Richard also served two tours of duty in the Peoples Republic of China, first as Deputy Consul General in Chengdu, Sichuan (1994-1995) and as a Senior Management Officer at the Embassy in Beijing (2001-2004).

Earlier in his career, Richard served tours of duty in London (1990-1992), Moscow (1988-1990), and Kingston, Jamaica (1986-1988). He also helped establish and lead two new U.S. Embassies following the fall of the Former Soviet Union in 1991. He was Charge d’Affaires, a.i. at the U.S. Embassy in Tallinn, Estonia in the fall of 1991, and led the team that established the new U.S. Embassy in Alma Ata, Kazakhstan in 1992.

Richard also previously served at the National Security Agency (NSA) at Ft. Meade, Maryland, and worked for four years as a Strategy Consultant for Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and PricewaterhouseCoopers in San Francisco. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA from the University of Georgia, Athens.

Richard has studied Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Pashto, and French during his diplomatic career. He is also the recipient of multiple Department awards, including several Superior Honor awards, Meritorious Honor awards, and the Matilda Sinclair Award for Hard Language study.

Richard is married to Cheryl Lynn Wong, and they have a daughter who attends University in Virginia.