John D. Feeley

John D. Feeley
26th United States Ambassador to Panama
Incumbent
Assumed office December 9, 2015
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Jonathan D. Farrar
Personal details
Education	Regis High School
Alma mater	Georgetown University School of Foreign Service
Profession	Diplomat

John D. Feeley is the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Panama since 2016.

Background information

Feeley's father was a professor of English. He was an Eagle Scout.^[1] He graduated from Regis High School in 1979,^[2] and earned B.S. at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1983. Feeley served in the United States Marine Corps from 1983 to 1990. He flew amphibious assault helicopters in and over Lebanon in the mid-1980s following the 1983 bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut. He also flew them from Navy ships in the Atlantic and the Caribbean.^[3] He earned his M.A. from the National War College in 2004. Feeley is married to Cherie Feeley, who is also a U.S. diplomat, and they have two children. He speaks fluent Spanish.

Career

Feeley joined the U.S. State Department in 1990. He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. His career includes extensive experience in Latin America affairs, either at the State Department in Washington, D.C., and on assignments overseas. From 2004 to 2006, he was a Deputy Executive Secretary in the Office of the Secretary of State, where he managed information flow for Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. He was Deputy Chief of Mission in Mexico from 2009 to 2012. He has also held the positions of Director for Central American Affairs and Deputy Director for Caribbean Affairs. He served as the Summit of the Americas Coordinator, overseeing preparation for U.S. participation in the 2012 Cartagena Summit. Then as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs he had responsibility for the daily management of policy implementation and the supervision of 53 diplomatic posts.^[4] Other overseas postings have included the Dominican Republic and Colombia.

In September 2014, he assessed the development of LGBT rights in Latin America saying "It is the cultural heritage of machismo, which is a bad thing in many ways ... not just in the manifestation of anti-LGBT attitudes". He added: "We have seen in some places — Argentina, Uruguay — some very progressive, advanced thinking". He expressed support for Wally Brewster, whose nomination to be Ambassador to the Dominican Republic was encountering opposition because he was in a same-sex marriage.^[5]

President Obama nominated him to be Ambassador to Panama on July 28, 2015,^[6] and the United States Senate approved the nomination on December 9, 2015.^[7] He presented his credentials to Juan Carlos Varela, President of Panama, and Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on February 16, 2016.^[8]

See also

• List of ambassadors of the United States

References

1. "Statement of John D. Feeley, December 1, 2015". Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
2. "John D. Feeley '79 Appointed U.S. Ambassador to Panama". Regis High School. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
3. "Veterans Month 2015: John D. Feeley". U.S. Department of State. November 1, 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
4. "John D. Feeley". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
5. Lavers, Michael K. (September 30, 2014). "State Dept. official: Latin America LGBT movement faces challenges". Washington Blade. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
6. "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts" (Press release). The White House. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
7. Ferrechio, Susan (December 9, 2015). "Senate confirms bevy of U.S. ambassadors". Washington Examiner. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
8. "Ambassador John D. Feeley Presents Credentials" (Press release). Embassy of the United States to Panama. February 16, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2016.