Schmierer, Richard J., 1950-

<p>Richard J. Schmierer (born 1950) is a United States diplomat. He served as the United States Ambassador to Oman through August 2012.</p>

<p>Schmierer was born in the state of New Jersey and graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1968; the school inducted him into its hall of fame in 2015. He graduated from Lehigh University in 1974 and got his Master's and PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1975 and 1977, respectively. Schmierer is a career Foreign Service Officer and a member of Senior Foreign Service of the State Department.</p>

<p>Schmierer started his diplomatic career in 1980 working in the diplomatic mission in Bonn, Frankfurt and Hamburg from 1980 through 1984. He was then enrolled in an Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies program which lasted a year. Following its completion, he served as Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. In 1988-1992, Schmierer worked at the headquarters of United States Information Agency, first as the head of the Middle East office of the International Visitor Program, then at the Office of European Affairs. In 1992-1996, he served as the Press Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Bonn (relocated to Berlin after reunification of Germany), capital of West Germany. In 1996-1997, Schmierer took additional courses on Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies. In 1997, he was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where he served a Counselor for Public Affairs until June 2000. From June 2000 to June 2004, he worked as the Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. From June 2004 through June 2005, he was the Embassy Counselor for Public Affairs in Baghdad, Iraq. In July 2005, he started teaching at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy of Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.. His lectures were on politics of Iraq. While at the university, he published a book titled <i>Iraq: Policy and Perceptions</i>. In July 2007, Schmierer was appointed Director of the Office of Iraq Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department. In 2008, he was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.</p>

<p>On June 11, 2009, he was appointed United States Ambassador to Oman by President Barack Obama. The Senate confirmed the appointment on July 10, 2009. He was sworn in on August 20, 2009 replacing Gary A. Grappo who had served as Ambassador to Oman since March 6, 2006.</p>

<p>Richard Schmierer is married to Sandra (Stanchick) Schmierer, a State Department employee. The couple has one daughter and two sons.</p>

<p>On June 11, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated a career diplomat with extensive experience in the Middle East to be the next ambassador to Oman. Richard J. Schmierer was born in New Jersey circa 1952, and earned a B.A. from Lehigh University in 1974, and a Master’s (1975) and a Ph.D. (1977) in Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts. His doctoral dissertation concerned the Anglo-Saxon language.</p>

<p>Schmierer is a State Department Foreign Service Officer and member of the Senior Foreign Service. He began his diplomatic career in 1980. During his first Foreign Service tour in Germany, from 1980 through 1984, he worked in Bonn, Frankfurt and Hamburg. Following a year of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies in Washington, DC, Schmierer served, from 1985 to 1988, as the Public Affairs Officer at the American Consulate General in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. From 1988 to 1992, Schmierer served at the headquarters of the U.S. Information Agency, first as the head of the Middle East office of the International Visitor Program, and later in the Agency’s Office of European Affairs. From 1992 to 1996, Schmierer served as the Press Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Bonn, which was the capital of West Germany. After additional Arabic and Middle Eastern studies, Schmierer returned to Saudi Arabia in August 1997, where he served as Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, until June 2000. From June 2000 through June 2004 he served as Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs at the American Embassy in Berlin, Germany. From June 2004 to June 2005, he served as Embassy Counselor for Public Affairs in Baghdad, Iraq. In July 2005 Schmierer joined the staff of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington, DC. While at the Institute, Schmierer lectured on Iraq and published a book on the topic entitled Iraq: Policy and Perceptions. In July 2007 Schmierer was named Director, Office of Iraq Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in the State Department. One year later, in June 2008, he was promoted to Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. Confirmed by the Senate July 10, 2009, Schmierer succeeded career diplomat Gary A. Grappo, who began his term as ambassador to Oman on March 6, 2006. The post has been occupied by career foreign service officers for 20 years, as the last political appointee as US Ambassador to Oman was George Cranwell Montgomery, who served from 1985 to 1989, after working for nine years for Sen. Howard Baker (R-TN).</p>

<p>Richard Schmierer is married to Sandra Schmierer; they have one daughter and two sons</p>