Secretary Kerry Swears-In John Bass as Ambassador to Turkey

October 8, 2014 By in Ambassadors, Foreign Service, FSOs, John F. Kerry, Obama, Secretary of State, Staffing the FS, State Department, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , , , ,

— Domani Spero
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President Obama announced his intent to nominate John Bass as the next ambassador to Turkey on  June 3, 2014.  At that time, the WH released the following brief bio:

Ambassador John R. Bass, a career member of the Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, is the Executive Secretary of the Department of State, a position he has held since 2012.  Previously, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Georgia from 2009 to 2012, the Leader of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Baghdad, Iraq from 2008 to 2009, and the Director of the Operations Center at the Department of State from 2005 to 2008.  He served as a Special Advisor to the Vice President from 2004 to 2005, and from 2002 to 2004 he was a Labor Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy. Ambassador Bass served as Chief of Staff and Special Assistant in the Office of the Deputy Secretary at the Department of State from 1998 to 2001.  Before that, he was a NATO Desk Officer and Desk Officer for Belgium and the Netherlands in the Bureau of European Affairs.  He served in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and his overseas assignments include serving at the U.S. Missions in Brussels, Belgium; Antwerp, Belgium; and Ndjamena, Chad. Ambassador Bass received an A.B. from Syracuse University.

— Bass, John – Republic of Turkey – 06-2014

 

Ambassador Bass had his confirmation hearing on July 15, 2015.  He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 17, 2014.  Our previously confirmed ambassador to Ankara, Frank J. Ricciardone, Jr. departed post on July 7, 2014, retired from the Foreign Service, and had since been appointed as vice president and director of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East.

Ambassador Bass takes over leadership at Embassy Ankara from retired ambassador Ross Wilson who arrived in Turkey on September 6, 2014 to take up duties as Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim.  He’ll have his hands full.

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