Nelson, David Daniel, 1956-

<p>David Daniel Nelson (1956–)<br>
Career Foreign Service Officer<br>
State of Residence: Minnesota</p>

<p>Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Uruguay)<br>
Appointed: December 29, 2009<br>
Presentation of Credentials: February 8, 2010<br>
Termination of Mission: Left post on May 23, 2011</p>

<p>David D. Nelson was confirmed by the Senate as U.S. Ambassador to the Uruguay on December 24, 2009, and was sworn in five days later. As ambassador, he returned to the site of his first Foreign Service posting.</p>

<p>Born in Minnesota, Nelson grew up on White Bear Lake, north of St. Paul. He attended Macalester College in St. Paul before transferring to the University of Wisconsin, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree. He added a Masters degree in Economics at the University of Maryland.</p>

<p>Joining the Foreign Service in 1979, his first overseas posting, in 1982, was as a junior political officer in Montevideo, Uruguay, with the portfolio of covering human rights developments at a time when Uruguay was ruled by a military dictatorship. He remained in Uruguay until 1984. He later held posts in Berlin, Madrid, Bonn, Quito, and Mérida.</p>

<p>Nelson was the National Security Council’s Senior Coordinator for the Sea Island G-8 Summit. He also served as Director of the Office of Monetary Affairs, Director of the Iraq Reconstruction Task Force, Director of the Office of Terrorism Finance and Economic Sanctions, Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs.</p>

<p>In June 2008, Nelson joined Economic, Energy and Business Affairs (EEB) as its Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, in charge of International Finance and Development. He advanced to the position of EEB’s Acting Assistant Secretary on the day Barack Obama was inaugurated, overseeing a staff of about 200 that was responsible for providing international economic advice to Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton.</p>

<p>He and his wife, Gloria, who met when both were posted to Montevideo in 1982, have one son. Nelson speaks Spanish and German.</p>

<p>David Daniel Nelson (born 1956) is a United States Foreign Service Officer and a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. He has notably served as the United States Ambassador to Uruguay.</p>

<p>David D. Nelson was born in Minnesota. He received a B.A. the University of Wisconsin and a master's degree in Economics from the University of Maryland.</p>

<p>From 1982 to 1984, he served as a diplomat in Montevideo, Uruguay. He also served in Berlin, Madrid, Bonn, Quito, and the U.S. Consulate in Mérida, Yucatán. He has worked for the National Security Council as Senior Coordinator for the Sea Island G-8 Summit. He has served as Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs, as Director of the Office of Terrorism Finance and Economic Sanctions, Director of the Iraq Reconstruction Task Force, and as Director of the Office of Monetary Affairs. Prior to becoming ambassador, he served as Acting Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs.</p>

<p>He speaks Spanish and German.</p>

<p>Amb. David D. Nelson is senior manager of global government affairs & policy for the Americas at General Electric (GE) since December 2011. In this position he helps coordinate GE’s government affairs initiatives for the Americas, and liaises with the US Government and other stakeholders on Latin America- and Canada-focused public policy issues. Ambassador Nelson joined GE after working at the U.S. State Department, where he most recently served as U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay. As ambassador, he focused on assisting U.S. companies in exporting to the country, and on improving the U.S.’s image through innovative public outreach in a broad range of sectors. Mr. Nelson has also served in senior roles in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the State Department, and in the National Security Council, and served in the American Embassies in Ecuador, Mexico, Germany, and Spain. He is bilingual (English & Spanish) and holds a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from the University of Wisconsin, and a Masters in Economics from the University of Maryland.</p>