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Thomas A. Shannon Jr.

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Thomas A. Shannon Jr.
22nd Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
In office
February 12, 2016 – June 4, 2018
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byWendy Sherman
Succeeded byStephen D. Mull (acting)
Acting
July 28, 2011 – September 21, 2011
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byWilliam J. Burns
Succeeded byWendy Sherman
United States Deputy Secretary of State
Acting
In office
February 1, 2017 – May 24, 2017
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byAntony Blinken
Succeeded byJohn J. Sullivan
United States Secretary of State
Ad interim
In office
January 20, 2017 – February 1, 2017
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byJohn Kerry
Succeeded byRex Tillerson
31st Counselor of the United States Department of State
In office
December 24, 2013 – February 12, 2016
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byHeather Higginbottom
Succeeded byKristie Kenney
United States Ambassador to Brazil
In office
February 4, 2010 – September 6, 2013
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byClifford M. Sobel
Succeeded byLiliana Ayalde
30th Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
In office
October 17, 2005 – November 10, 2009
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Barack Obama
Preceded byRoger Noriega
Succeeded byArturo Valenzuela
Personal details
Born
Thomas Alfred Shannon Jr.

1958 (age 65–66)[1]
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
EducationCollege of William and Mary (BA)
University College, Oxford (MPhil, DPhil)

Thomas Alfred Shannon Jr. (born 1958) is an American diplomat who served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2016 to 2018. In early 2017, Shannon served as acting United States Secretary of State until President Donald Trump's nominee, Rex Tillerson, was confirmed. He was also acting Deputy Secretary of State of the United States until the Senate confirmed President Trump's nominee, John J. Sullivan.

Since 1984, Shannon has worked in the United States Foreign Service, and he has served in embassies around the world. From 2005 to 2009, he was Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and from 2010 to 2013 he was United States Ambassador to Brazil. From 2013 to 2016, he was Counselor of the United States Department of State, and was also acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in 2011. On February 2, 2016, the Senate confirmed Shannon as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.[2] Just under two years later, the Associated Press reported that Shannon would be stepping down from the post pending the naming of a successor.[3]

After retirement, Shannon joined law firm Arnold & Porter as Senior International Policy Advisor.

Shannon is currently the Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, where he is also a Co-Director of the Program in History and the Practice of Diplomacy.[4][5]

Shannon currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Inter-American Dialogue's Board of Directors and is on the Board of Directors for the Global Americans think tank.[6]

Early life and education

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Shannon graduated from the College of William & Mary with a B.A. with high honors in government and politics in 1980. He went on to University College, Oxford, where he completed a M.Phil. in 1982 and a D.Phil. in 1983, both in politics. He speaks both Spanish and Portuguese.[7][8]

Career

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Early career

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Micronesia President Peter M. Christian and Thomas A. Shannon Jr.

Shannon subsequently joined the United States Foreign Service as a Foreign Service Officer. He was the Consular/Political Rotational Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, Guatemala from 1984 to 1986; Country Officer for Cameroon, Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe from 1987 to 1989; and the Special Assistant to the Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Brasília, Brazil, from 1989 to 1992.[7]

He served as the Regional Labor Attaché at the U.S. Consulate-General in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 1992 to 1996; as Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, from 1996 to 1999; and as the Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC) from 1999 to 2000.[7]

Shannon was appointed as U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) from 2000 to 2001, serving under Luis J. Lauredo. From 2001 to 2002, Shannon was the Director of Andean Affairs at the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Department of State. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Western Hemisphere Affairs from 2002 to 2003.[7]

Shannon then served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the NSC from 2003 to 2005. In October 2005, he became Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and served in that role until November 2009, when he was replaced by Arturo Valenzuela. He was appointed as United States Ambassador to Brazil in February 2010 and served there until September 2013. For a period from July 2011 to September 2011, he was concurrently the acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs at the Department of State.[7] In 2012, the Senate granted Shannon the rank of Career Ambassador in the U.S. Foreign Service.[9]

State Department Counselor

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In December 2013, Shannon was appointed as Counselor of the United States Department of State, only the second Foreign Service Officer ever appointed to that office. In early 2015, President Obama issued an executive order levying sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials; the order also called Venezuela a threat to the United States. President Nicolás Maduro accused the United States government of planning to invade Venezuela.

In April 2015, The New York Times reported that Shannon was in Venezuela, and was supposedly going to meet with President Maduro. Shannon was supposedly there to deliver a message to Maduro from the United States government. The State Department later issued a statement saying that the Venezuelan government had invited the United States government to send a diplomat to Caracas to meet with Maduro before the Summit of the Americas meeting. The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry then issued a statement saying that Shannon had met with the Venezuelan Foreign Minister. The Foreign Ministry later confirmed that Shannon "brought a message from his government."[10] Shannon retained his position as Counselor until February 12, 2016, when he was appointed as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs for the last year of Barack Obama's presidency.[7][11][12][13]

Acting Secretary of State

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Shannon's portrait during his ambassadorship

After Donald Trump was inaugurated 45th President of the United States on January 20, 2017, Shannon became Acting United States Secretary of State. He remained in office for only 12 days, when on February 1, 2017, the Senate confirmed Rex Tillerson, President Trump's nominee, as Secretary of State.[8][14]

While Shannon was acting Secretary of State, President Trump dismissed many prominent and senior State Department officials, resulting in the firing or forced resignations of over a dozen career diplomats,[15] leaving a majority of senior career positions at the Department vacant.[16] Most notably, Thomas Countryman, acting Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security, was on his way to Rome for an international meeting on nuclear weapons when he discovered that he had been summarily removed from his position. Without leaving the airport, he turned around and got on the first flight back to Washington.[17]

Under Secretary for Political Affairs

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Shannon with his wife Guisela Shannon upon his retirement from the State Department in 2018

On February 2, 2016, the Senate confirmed Shannon as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.[2]

In June 2016, Shannon complained about the Government of China's claim of domination in the South China Sea, calling it "madness." On June 29, 2016, he met with India Foreign Secretary Jaishankar, and expressed support for the Indian government, calling it America's "anchor" in the Asia-Pacific region.[18]

On February 1, 2018, Shannon announced his plans for retirement, saying he would stay in the job until a replacement is named. He told the Associated Press the retirement was for personal rather than political reasons, noting his age and the recent death of his mother.[19]

In 2020, Shannon, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that President Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."[20]

Personal life

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He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Thomas Alfred Shannon Jr. (1958–)". Office of the Historian. December 24, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Shannon, Thomas A., Jr". Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "Top diplomat stepping down, dealing blow to State Dept". Newsday. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  4. ^ "Thomas Shannon". Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. July 26, 2019. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  5. ^ "People | History and the Practice of Diplomacy". hpd.princeton.edu. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  6. ^ "Board of Directors". Global Americans. July 28, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Shannon, Thomas A., Jr". Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  8. ^ a b "W&M alumnus Thomas Shannon Jr. named acting secretary of state". College of William & Mary. January 20, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  9. ^ "PN872 — Thomas A. Shannon Jr. — Department of State". US Congress. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  10. ^ Neuman, William (April 8, 2015). "In a Surprise, a Top Kerry Adviser Visits Venezuela". The New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2018 – via NYTimes.com.
  11. ^ "Appointment of Ambassador Tom Shannon To Serve as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs". U.S. Department of State. September 18, 2015.
  12. ^ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. September 18, 2015 – via National Archives.
  13. ^ "State Department gets some nominees, after Cruz clears his roadblock". Washington Post. February 12, 2016.
  14. ^ "A Trump Administration, With Obama Staff Members Filling In the Gaps". New York Times. January 19, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  15. ^ Rogin, Josh. "The State Department's entire senior administrative team just resigned". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  16. ^ Brian Klaas (January 31, 2017). "Donald Trump is purging career officials and surrounding himself with unqualified partisans". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  17. ^ Julian Borger in Washington. "Trump's state department purge sparks worries of 'know-nothing approach' to foreign policy | US news". The Guardian. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  18. ^ Krishnamoorthy, Nandini (June 30, 2016). "China be held accountable for India's NSG failure, US diplomat says". Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  19. ^ Morello, Carol (February 1, 2018). "3rd-highest State Department official resigns in heavy blow for beleaguered agency". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  20. ^ "Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden". Defending Democracy Together. August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
[edit]
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Brazil
2010–2013
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
2005–2009
Succeeded by
Preceded by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Acting

2011
Succeeded by
Preceded by Counselor of the United States Department of State
2013–2016
Succeeded by
Preceded by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
2016–2018
Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Secretary of State
Ad interim

2017
Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Deputy Secretary of State
Acting

2017
Succeeded by