Jones, Stuart E., 1959-

Stuart E. Jones (born 1959) is a retired American diplomat. He previously served as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from January to September 2017, United States Ambassador to Iraq from October 2014 to August 2016, and as the United States Ambassador to Jordan from July 2011 to July 2014.

Raised in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, Stuart E. Jones earned a B.A. in history from Duke University in 1982 and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1986. After law school, Jones traveled in Latin America and subsequently decided to make a career in the State Department.

He subsequently joined the United States Foreign Service as a career diplomat. He served as Governorate Coordinator in Al Anbar Province in Iraq, and at the National Security Council as Country Director for Iraq. From 1994 to 1996, he was special assistant to the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He has also served in Turkey, El Salvador and Colombia. From 2005 to 2008, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. From 2008 to 2010, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State at the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. He also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Baghdad.

On July 21, 2011, he was appointed United States Ambassador to Jordan. He served in that role from September 5, 2011 to August 14, 2014. On May 8, 2014, President Obama nominated Jones to be the United States Ambassador to Iraq. On June 26, 2014, the U.S. Senate confirmed Jones in a 93-0 vote. He was sworn in by United States Secretary of State John Kerry on September 17, 2014, remaining in the role until August 2016. He served as Acting Assistant Secretary/Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau in for Near East Asian Affairs at the Department of State during the transition from President Obama to President Trump, stepping down from the role in September 2017.

Jones currently leads Bechtel’s international and domestic government relations and corporate communications as president for regions and corporate affairs. He joined the company in 2018 as region president for Europe and the Middle East. He assumed his current role in 2019.