Taylor, Teddy Bernard, 1953-

<p>Teddy Bernard Taylor (born 1953) is a United States diplomat. A member of the Senior Foreign Service, Taylor served as the United States Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. He was succeeded by Walter E. North on November 7, 2012.</p>

<p>Taylor was born in 1953 in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Florida A&M University in 1975 and has been a brother in Omega Psi Phi fraternity.</p>

<p>Taylor started his diplomatic career in 1978 working as a Consular/Economic Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala through 1980. From 1981 to 1983, he worked at the U.S. Embassy in Panama and from 1983 to 1985, at the embassy in Honduras. In 1985, upon his return to the states, he was appointed Deputy Director of Press and Public Affairs in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs remaining on the post until 1987 when he took up the role of Deputy Policy Officer for Latin America at the United States Information Agency. From 1988 through 1991, he served as Deputy Director for East Asian and Pacific Assignments at the Bureau of Human Resources; from 1991 to 1992, he was the Deputy Examiner in the Board of Foreign Service Examiners in the same Bureau and from 1992 through 1993, he served as the Special Assistant in the Visa Services Office in the Bureau of Consular Affairs.</p>

<p>In 1995, he was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, Hungary, where he worked as the Consular Affairs Officer until 1999. In 2001, Taylor was appointed Director of the Orientation Division of Foreign Service Institute. He was the first African-American to hold this post. Shortly thereafter, he served as the Consul General at U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba. In 2001-2003, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Director of the Office of Employee Relations in the Bureau of Human Resources. On September 21, 2009 he was sworn in as the United States Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, also accredited to US embassies in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.</p>

<p>Being a member of Omega Psi Phi, he was active in extracurricular activities in some places of assignment. In Panama, he coached a teenager basketball team in Panama Canal Zone; in Hungary, he was the Chairperson of the Cub and Boy Scout parent organization and merit badge instructor and Chairman of the Eagle Scout Board of Review committee. He's married to Foreign Service Officer Antoinette Corbin-Taylor. The couple has two children. Taylor is fluent in Spanish, Turkish and Hungarian.</p>

<p>Born in Washington, D.C. in 1953, Teddy Bernard Taylor graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Florida A&M University in 1975. During his time in Tallahassee, Taylor became a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.</p>

<p>In 1978, Taylor began his diplomatic career. His first position was a Consular/Economic Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala. After working there for two years, Taylor was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Panama, where he served as a Consular Officer in the capital, Panama City, from 1981 to 1983. While in Panama City, Taylor coached a basketball team of 13-15 year olds in the former Panama Canal Zone. From 1983 to 1985, Taylor worked at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.</p>

<p>When he returned to the United States in 1985, Taylor was appointed Deputy Director of Press and Public Affairs in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs in the U.S. State Department. In 1987, he became Deputy Political Officer for Latin America at the United States Information Agency (USIA). From 1988 to 1991, Taylor served as Deputy Director for East Asian and Pacific Assignments at the Bureau of Human Resources in the State Department and then from 1991 to 1992, he held the position of Deputy Examiner in the Board of Foreign Service Examiners at the Bureau of Human Resources. He then served as the Special Assistant in the Visa Services Office in the Bureau of Consular Affairs from 1992 to 1993.</p>

<p>For four years beginning in 1995, Taylor worked as the Consular Officer at the United States Embassy in Budapest, Hungary. During his time in Hungary, Taylor served as the Chairperson of the Cub and Boy Scouts and was a merit badge instructor and Chairman of the Eagle Scout Board Review Committee. In recognition of his innovative leadership at the embassy, Taylor received the State Department’s Barbara Watson Award for Consular Excellence.</p>

<p>In 2001, Taylor became the first African American Director of the U.S. Foreign Service Institute located in Arlington, Virginia. He was then named Consul General at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba. From 2001 to 2003, Taylor served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Director of the Office of Employee Relations in the Bureau of Human Resources. He participated in the State Department’s Senior Seminar Leadership Development Program.</p>

<p>On September 21, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Taylor to be the United States Ambassador to Papua New Guinea. His appointment also included United States Embassies in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. During his tenure in Papua New Guinea, Taylor and his wife, fellow Foreign Service officer Antoinette Corbin-Taylor, partnered with Delta Sigma Theta, her college sorority, to develop the first mobile library service in that nation. He also worked on programs that increased the economic productivity and power of women.</p>

<p>Ambassador Taylor returned to the United States in October 2012 and is currently a U.S. State Department Diplomat-in Residence at Howard University. He and his wife have two children. He speaks Spanish, Turkish, and Hungarian.</p>