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Richard M. Mills Jr.

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Richard M. Mills Jr.
Mills in 2024
United States Ambassador to Nigeria
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 25, 2024
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byMary Beth Leonard
United States Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations
In office
November 9, 2020 – June 21, 2024
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byJonathan Cohen
Succeeded byDorothy Shea
United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Chargé d'Affaires
In office
January 20, 2021 – February 25, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byKelly Craft
Succeeded byLinda Thomas-Greenfield
United States Ambassador to Canada
Chargé d'Affaires
In office
August 23, 2019 – November 9, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byKelly Craft
Succeeded byKatherine Brucker (Chargé d'Affaires)
United States Ambassador to Armenia
In office
February 15, 2015 – October 17, 2018
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byJohn A. Heffern
Succeeded byLynne M. Tracy
Personal details
Born
Richard Merrill Mills Jr.[1]

(1959-02-23) February 23, 1959 (age 65)[2]
Louisiana, U.S.
EducationGeorgetown University (BA)
University of Texas, Austin (JD)
National Defense University (MS)

Richard Merrill Mills Jr. (born February 23, 1959)[3] is an American diplomat serving as the United States ambassador to Nigeria since July 2024. He served as the United States deputy ambassador to the United Nations from 2020 to 2024 and, in that capacity, served as the U.S. Chargé d'Affaires and Acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations between January 20, 2021, and February 24, 2021, when Linda Thomas-Greenfield became ambassador. He previously served as the U.S. Chargé d'Affaires for Canada.[4]

Early life and education

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Mills was born in Louisiana, and grew up in Michigan. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law, and a Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University.

Career

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Prior to his Foreign Service career, Mills was an associate attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Duncan, Allen and Mitchell, and then at the Washington, D.C. office of Wickwire, Gavin and Gibbs.

Diplomatic career

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Mills's first tour as a Foreign Service Officer was at the U.S. embassy in Paris in 1988, where he served as a consular officer and staff assistant to Ambassador Walter Curley.[5] He has had assignments in the Executive Secretariat at the Department of State (1996–1998), Dublin (1999–2001), the United States Mission to the United Nations in New York City (2001–2003), Islamabad (2003–2004), Riyadh (2005–2006), London (2006–2009), Baghdad (2009–2010), and Valletta (2010–2012).[6][5] He then served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. embassy in Beirut, from 2012 to 2014.[6][5] During his career, Mills has also served in the Office of Legislative Affairs, at the U.S. Consulate in Saint Petersburg, and in the now-defunct Bureau of Soviet Union Affairs.[6][5] In July 2014, Mills was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the United States Ambassador to Armenia, a position in which he served until October 2018.[7][8]

Mills holds the personal rank of Minister-Counselor in the United States Senior Foreign Service. He was a nominee for the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Year Award in 2012, and has received nine Superior Honor Awards from the Department of State. He speaks fluent French and conversational Russian.[6]

Ambassador to Canada

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In November 2018, Mills assumed the position of Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of the United States in Ottawa. Following the resignation of United States Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft in August 2019 upon her nomination to be US Ambassador to the UN, he became the acting Ambassador to Canada, with the title of Chargé d'affaires.

Deputy Ambassador to the UN

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In January 2020, Mills was nominated to be the next United States Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, again serving under now United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 6, 2020.[9] He arrived on November 8, 2020.[10]

Ambassador to Nigeria

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On July 11, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Mills to be the next United States ambassador to Nigeria.[11] On July 28, 2022, his nomination was sent to the Senate.[12] His nomination was not acted upon for the rest of the year and was returned to Biden on January 3, 2023.[13]

President Biden renominated Mills the same day and a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 1, 2023.[14] The committee favorably reported his nomination on July 13, 2023 and the Senate confirmed his nomination on May 2, 2024 by voice vote.[14] He arrived in Nigeria on June 22, 2024.[15] He presented his credentials to President of Nigeria on July 25, 2024.[16]

Previous roles in the Foreign Service

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  • Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France (1988–1990)
  • Desk Officer in the Bureau of Soviet Union Affairs, Washington D.C. (1990–1993)
  • Political Officer at the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg, Russia (1993–1995)
  • Legislative Affairs Officer at the Office of Legislative Affairs, Washington D.C. (1995–1996)
  • Line Director in the Executive Secretariat at the Department of State, Washington D.C. (1996–1998)
  • Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Dublin, Ireland (1999–2001)
  • Political Officer at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, New York (2001–2003)
  • Deputy Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan (2003–2004)
  • Energy Attaché and Acting Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2005–2006)
  • Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in London, United Kingdom (2006–2009)
  • Senior Democracy Advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq (2009–2010)
  • Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Valletta, Malta (2010–2012)
  • Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon (2012–2014)
  • Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia (2015–2018)
  • Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada (2018–2020)
  • Deputy Representative, with rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York, and Deputy Representative to the U.N. Security Council (2020–2021)

Personal life

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Mills is married to Leigh Gabrielle Carter, a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer.[6] They were married on October 18, 1991, in Arlington, Virginia.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "PN962 – Foreign Service". U.S. Congress. April 27, 1988. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  2. ^ a b "Marriage Return". Department of Health, Division of Vital Statistics. No. 91–053870. Commonwealth of Virginia. October 21, 1991.
  3. ^ "Richard M. Mills Jr. – People – Department History – Office of the Historian". history.state.gov.
  4. ^ "Chargé d'Affaires Richard Mills Jr". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Canada. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d "U.S. Ambassador to Armenia: Who Is Richard Mills?". AllGov. October 12, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e "U.S. Ambassador to Armenia". Embassy of the United States, Yerevan. Archived from the original on April 21, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  7. ^ Mills, Richard M. (October 9, 2018). "Farewell Speech As Prepared Ambassador Richard M. Mills". am.usembassy.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  8. ^ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. July 10, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2015 – via National Archives.
  9. ^ "PN1340 – Richard M. Mills Jr. – Department of State". U.S. Congress. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  10. ^ "Welcome Ambassador Richard M. Mills, U.S. Deputy Representative to the United Nations". United States Mission to the United Nations. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  11. ^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  12. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate". The White House. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  13. ^ "PN2427 — Richard Mills Jr. — Department of State 117th Congress (2021-2022)". US Congress. 3 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  14. ^ a b "PN1338 — Richard Mills Jr. — Department of State 118th Congress (2023-2024)". US Congress. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Welcome to Nigeria, Ambassador Mills!". x.com. June 22, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  16. ^ "Ambassador Richard Mills presented credentials to President Tinubu today". x.com. July 25, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Armenia
2015–2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Canada
Acting
2019–2020 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations
2020–2024 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Acting
2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Nigeria
2024–present 		Incumbent
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