Blake, Robert Orris, 1957-

<p>Robert O. Blake, Jr., Senior Director, leads our Southeast Asia practice.</p>

<p>Ambassador Blake served for 31 years in the State Department in a wide range of leadership positions. From 2013-2016, he served as the US Ambassador to Indonesia, where he focused on building stronger business and educational ties between the US and Indonesia, while also developing cooperation to help Indonesia reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 2009, he was nominated by President Obama to be Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, serving from 2009-2013, for which he was awarded the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award. From 2006-2009, he served concurrently as US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Prior to that, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in India from 2003-2006, where he was named the worldwide DCM of the Year by the State Department.</p>

<p>Most recently, Ambassador Blake has held a wide variety of key State Department positions as well, including Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs from 2001-2003, Deputy Executive Secretary for the Department of State from 2000-2001, and Senior Desk Officer responsible for economic and political relations with Turkey from 1998-2000. He has also served in Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and Nigeria.</p>

<p>He is currently Chairman of the Board of the US-Indonesia Society, and he is a member of the board of the Asia Foundation and the Bhutan Foundation.</p>

<p>Ambassador Blake holds a BA from Harvard College, and an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC.</p>

<p>Robert Orris Blake Jr. (born 1957) is an American career diplomat who served as Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from 2006 to 2009, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs from 2009 to 2013 and Ambassador to Indonesia from 2014 to 2016.</p>

<p>Blake is a Senior Director at McLarty Associates where he leads the firm's India and South Asia practice and advises clients in Indonesia for the Southeast Asia and Pacific practice. He is also co-chair of the board of trustees at the U.S.-Indonesia Society (USINDO) and is a board member at the Asia Foundation and the Bhutan Foundation. Blake also serves on the Global Leadership Council for the World Resources Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).</p>

<p>He is the son of Robert O. Blake and grandson of Sheldon Whitehouse, both former U.S. Ambassadors.</p>

<p>Blake is a career Foreign Service Officer, having entered the Foreign Service in 1985. He has served at the U.S. embassies in Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt. He also has held a number of positions at the State Department in Washington, D.C. Blake served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission in New Delhi, India, from 2003 to 2006 where he was named the worldwide DCM of the Year by the State Department.</p>

<p>Blake arrived in Sri Lanka on September 8, 2006, to take up his duties as Ambassador to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives. Blake presented his credentials on September 9 to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. In January 2007 he met with President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to discuss renewable energy in the Maldives. In February 2007, Blake received minor injuries from a mortar blast while exiting a helicopter at a Sri Lankan air base in Batticaloa, where he was to attend a development meeting. Tamil rebels are believed to be responsible for the mortar attack. The Tigers claimed they were not informed by the government that the ambassador was present and were only returning fire from the Sri Lankan Army.</p>

<p>Blake was known to be engaged in the Sri Lankan civil society and practice what came to be known as "Public Diplomacy" which led some to label him as an interferer in internal affairs of the country.</p>

<p>Blake succeeded Richard Boucher when he assumed his duties as the Assistant Secretary for Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on May 26, 2009, for which he was awarded the State Department's Distinguished Service Award. He was replaced by Nisha Desai Biswal on October 23, 2013, after being nominated by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia.</p>

<p>Blake earned a B.A. from Harvard College in 1980 and an M.A. in international relations from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in 1984. He is married to Sofia Blake. They have three daughters.</p>

<p>Bob Blake is a Senior Director for McClarty Associates in Washington DC. He served for 31 years in the State Department in a wide range of positions.</p>

<p>As U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia from 2013 to 2016, he focused on building cooperation to help Indonesia reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the clearing of tropical forests and by embracing clean energy; and building stronger business and educational ties between the U.S. and Indonesia. From 2009 to 2013, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia for which he was awarded the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award. From 2006-2009 he served concurrently as the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives. In Sri Lanka he was a strong advocate for democracy, human rights and the protection of civilians as the Government of Sri Lanka pursued its campaign to defeat the LTTE, designated a terrorist group by the Department of State. Ambassador Blake also served as Deputy Chief of Mission in India, as well as other postings in Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, and the State Department.</p>

<p>Ambassador Blake holds a B.A. from Harvard College and an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C. He is married to Sofia Blake and they have three daughters.</p>