Thomas A. Shannon, Jr.

For other people of the same name, see Thomas Shannon (disambiguation).

Thomas Shannon
Counselor of the United States Department of State
Incumbent
Assumed office December 24, 2013
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Heather Higginbottom
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Acting
In office July 28, 2011 – September 21, 2011
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Bill Burns
Succeeded by	Wendy Sherman
United States Ambassador to Brazil
In office February 4, 2010 – September 6, 2013
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Clifford Sobel
Succeeded by	Liliana Ayalde
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
In office October 17, 2005 – November 10, 2009
President	George W. Bush Barack Obama
Preceded by	Roger Noriega
Succeeded by	Arturo Valenzuela
Personal details
Born	1958 (age 65–66)
Alma mater	College of William and Mary University of Oxford

Thomas Alfred Shannon, Jr. (born 1958) is a Career Ambassador in the United States Foreign Service and the current Counselor to the Secretary of State John F. Kerry. The Counselor provides strategic guidance to the Secretary and works broadly across the Department to enhance its diplomacy and public outreach. Counselor Shannon is just the seventh Foreign Service Officer to hold the post, and the first in thirty two years. Prior to becoming Counselor, Shannon was the U.S. Ambassador to Brazil from 2009 to 2013. Previously he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, leading the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the U.S. Department of State from 2005 through 2009. In September 2015, President Obama nominated Shannon as the new Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

Career

Shannon holds an M.Phil (1982) and D.Phil. (1982), both in politics, from Oxford University, and a B.A. with high honors in government and philosophy from the College of William & Mary (1980).

During his career as a Foreign Service Officer he has served as Special Assistant to the Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Brasília, Brazil from 1989 to 1992; as Country Officer for Cameroon, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe from 1987 to 1989; and as the Consular/Political Rotational Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, Guatemala from 1984 to 1986.

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

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Shannon served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council from 2003 to 2005. From 2002 to 2003, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the Department of State, where he was Director of Andean Affairs from 2001 to 2002. He was U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) from 2000 to 2001.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Clifford Sobel	United States Ambassador to Brazil 2010–2013	Succeeded by Liliana Ayalde
Political offices
Preceded by Roger Noriega	Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs 2005–2009	Succeeded by Arturo Valenzuela
Preceded by Bill Burns	Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Acting 2011	Succeeded by Wendy Sherman
Preceded by Heather Higginbottom	Counselor of the United States Department of State 2013–present	Incumbent