Mussomeli, Joseph Adamo, 1952-

Dates:
Birth 1952-05-26
Gender:
Male
Americans
Slovenian, English

Biographical notes:

Joseph Adamo Mussomeli (born May 26, 1952) is a retired American diplomat. He most notably served as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia (2005-2008) and the Republic of Slovenia (2010-2015).

The grandson of Sicilian immigrants, Mussomeli was born in New York City on May 26, 1952. He graduated from Camden Catholic High School in 1970, going from there to Rutgers University for two years before taking time off to hitchhike through Europe. Upon returning to the United States, he attended Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) and graduated summa cum laude in 1975, earning a BA in Political Science. In 1978, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers School of Law-Newark.

After law school, Mussomeli spent some years working in the legal field, working as a Deputy Attorney General of New Jersey, before entering the US Foreign Service in September 1980. His first overseas posting was in Cairo, Egypt, as a general service officer (GSO). After that, he returned to Washington, D.C., where he worked at the Department of State as staff assistant to the Undersecretary for Security Assistance. His next overseas assignment was in Manila, Philippines, as a consular officer from 1984–1986, to which he would later return in 2002 as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM). Before that time, however, his tours included: North Korea Desk Officer (1986–1988), Senior Watch Officer (1989–1990), Economic Counselor in Colombo, Sri Lanka, (1990–1992), Inspector for the Office of Inspector General (1992–1994), Political Counselor in Rabat, Morocco (1995–1998), Deputy Chief of Mission in Manama, Bahrain (1998–2001), and as a member of the Senior Seminar (2001–2002). During his second tour in the Philippines as DCM, he served as Chargé d'affaires for a year while the Ambassador, Frank Ricciardone, was away.

On June 24, 2005, the United States Senate confirmed him as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia. He then went on to serving as the Director of Human Resources/ELCDA at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., for one year. In May 2008, he served for one year in Kabul, Afghanistan as the Assistant Chief of Mission. On September 29, 2010, the United States Senate confirmed him as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia. He left Slovenia in January 2015.

Mussomeli has received several awards including the 2010 Arnie Raphael Award, the 2008 Presidential Distinguished Service Award, two Superior Honor Awards, one Group Superior Honor Award, and two Meritorious Honor Awards.

Mussomeli's wife, Sharon Flack Mussomeli, is a retired foreign service officer. They have three children: Isaac, Alessia, and Thomas.

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Subjects:

not available for this record

Occupations:

  • Ambassadors
  • Diplomats
  • Foreign service officers
  • Law clerks
  • Lawyers

Places:

  • Manila, NCR, PH
  • District of Columbia, DC, US
  • Cherry Hill, NJ, US
  • Rabat, 04, MA
  • Colombo, 36, LK
  • Cairo, 11, EG
  • New York City, NY, US
  • 16, BH