Dougherty, J. Thomas, 1951-

<p>J. Thomas Dougherty (born 1951) is an American diplomat. He was the United States Ambassador to Burkina Faso from 2010 to 2013. He is currently the Executive Director of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, based in Canberra, Australia.</p>

<p>Dougherty is from Casper, Wyoming. He was nominated to be the ambassador of the United States to Burkina Faso by President Barack Obama on May 27, 2010 and confirmed by Congress on August 5, 2010.</p>

<p>Dougherty retired as a member of the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. State Department in July 2016 after a 27-year career. He served as Ambassador in Burkina Faso from 2010–2013, and then as Deputy Chief of Mission in Australia from 2013–2016. He was Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and served in the Bureau of African Affairs as Office Director for West Africa and then as acting Deputy Assistant Secretary. He was Deputy Chief of Mission in Kinshasa from 2004-2007 and in Lilongwe from 2001–2004. His overseas assignments as a public affairs officer with USIA and then State were in Yaoundé, Bonn, Asmara, Brazzaville, Jeddah, and Dakar. He is the recipient of multiple State Department awards and speaks French, German, Italian, and some Arabic.</p>

<p>Dougherty entered the Foreign Service after working as a dean and teacher in international schools in Belgium and in Switzerland, and as an editor and translator in Germany. His undergraduate degree from Brown University was followed by graduate work in California and at the Università per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy. He was awarded a Marshall Scholarship. He received a Fulbright grant for study in Indonesia, and a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to study the works of George Kennan.</p>

<p>A 20-year career diplomat and African affairs specialist, J. Thomas Dougherty received his first chance to serve as an ambassador in taking over the top post at the U.S. embassy in the West African nation of Burkina Faso. He was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 27, 2010, and confirmed by the Senate on August 10.</p>

<p>Originally from Casper, Wyoming, and a graduate of Brown University, Dougherty joined the Foreign Service in 1989. His overseas posts have included Cameroon, Germany, Eritrea, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia and Senegal.</p>

<p>He was deputy chief of mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Malawi, followed by director for West African affairs at the State Department and acting deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs.</p>

<p>He also served as minister-counselor for public affairs at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, prior to his appointment as ambassador to Burkina Faso.</p>

<p>Dougherty is married and has two children.</p>