Silliman, Douglas Alan, 1960-

<p>Douglas A. Silliman, a career member of the Foreign Service, was confirmed July 14, 2016, to be U.S. ambassador to Iraq. It is his second such post.</p>

<p>Silliman, who is from Texas, earned a B.A. in political science from Baylor University in 1982. He later earned an M.A. in International Relations from The George Washington University. His master’s thesis was titled “The Soviet Urban Housing Shortage: Growing Demand, Stagnant Supply.”</p>

<p>Silliman began his career with the State Department in 1984 serving as a visa officer in Haiti and a political officer in Tunisia.</p>

<p>He continued to work his way up the State Department ladder, serving in Washington as staff assistant to the assistant secretary for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, as Lebanon Desk officer and in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs. For a while he was stationed in Pakistan as a political officer, and was thereafter named regional officer for the Middle East in the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism.</p>

<p>From 2000 to 2004, Silliman held the post of political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Jordan and subsequently returned to Washington as director and deputy director of the State Department’s Office of Southern European Affairs, a post he held until 2007.</p>

<p>Starting in July 2008, he served as deputy chief of mission in Ankara, Turkey, and in 2010 he became charge d’affaires for the embassy there. During his time in Turkey, Silliman and his wife Catherine appeared on Turkish television, showing viewers what went into an American Thanksgiving dinner.</p>

<p>In July 2011, Silliman moved on to Baghdad as counselor for political affairs. He was named deputy chief of mission and charge d’affaires in 2012, a post he held until his nomination as ambassador to Kuwait in 2013. Silliman served there in a relatively controversy-free tenure until taking up the post in Baghdad.</p>

<p>Silliman had an easier path to his second ambassadorship. His nomination to head the mission in Kuwait languished in Congress for seven months. His appointment to Iraq went through in a relatively speedy two months.</p>

<p>Silliman and his wife, Catharine, have two sons, Zachary and Benjamin. He speaks Turkish, Arabic and French.</p>

<p>Ambassador Douglas A. Silliman is president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. He previously served as U.S. ambassador to Iraq from 2016-19 and U.S. ambassador to Kuwait from 2014-16. From 2013-14, he served as a senior advisor in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in the U.S. Department of State, working on Iraq issues and the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. Silliman was deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq from 2012-13, minister counselor for political affairs in Baghdad from 2011-12, and deputy chief of mission in Ankara, Turkey from 2008-11. He joined the Department of State in 1984.</p>

<p>Silliman served as director and deputy director of the Department of State’s Office of Southern European Affairs, as political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Jordan, and as the regional officer for the Middle East in the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. He worked as a political officer in Islamabad, Pakistan, in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs, as the desk officer for Lebanon, and as a staff assistant to the assistant secretary for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs. Silliman began his career as a visa officer in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and a political officer in Tunis, Tunisia.</p>

<p>In 2018, Silliman received the Presidential Distinguished Service Award from President Donald J. Trump. He has received numerous awards from the Department of State, including the Secretary’s Award for Public Outreach in 2007 and senior performance awards. Silliman received the Sinclaire Language Award in 1993 and the W. Averell Harriman Award for outstanding junior officer in 1988 from the American Foreign Service Association. He retired from the Foreign Service in April 2019 after 35 years.</p>

<p>Silliman received a Bachelor of Arts in political science, summa cum laude, from Baylor University in Texas, where he was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He earned a Master of Arts in international relations from the George Washington University. Silliman speaks Arabic and French. He is married and has two adult children.</p>

<p>In addition to his position as president of AGSIW, Silliman also serves on the board of advisors of the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce, which helps American businesses expand their international business and trade ties, especially in the Middle East and Gulf region. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomacy.</p>