Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone, Jr.

Francis J. Ricciardone, Jr. is on leave from the U.S. Department of State as a guest scholar at USIP. He has served as U.S. Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt (2005-2008), the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of Palau (simultaneous appointments, 2002-2005). As a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, he received U.S. government and other organization awards for his work in foreign policy and program management, political reporting and analysis and peacekeeping.

Ricciardone has extensive diplomatic experience with Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Italy and Jordan. He has also served in two multinational military deployments: as chief of the Civilian Observer Unit of the Multinational Force and Observers in Egypt's Sinai Desert, and as political adviser to the U.S. and Turkish commanding generals of Operation Provide Comfort, based in Turkey and operating in Iraq. In Washington, Ricciardone directed the Department of State's 9/11 Task Force on the Coalition Against Terrorism and served as the Secretary of State's special coordinator for the Transition of Iraq (1999-2001). He also has served in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and in senior management positions under the director general of the Foreign Service and of Human Resources.

Before entering the Foreign Service in 1978, Ricciardone was a Fulbright Scholar and teacher in Italy (1973-76) and Iran (1976-1978), and traveled widely in Southwest Asia, Europe and the Middle East. He was born in Boston and graduated from Malden Catholic High School and Dartmouth College.

Other:

• Dealing with the Arab World: The Case of Egypt
  PBS Broadcast from The Miller Center of Public Policy, University of Virginia, January 16, 2009.
• Outlook on US-Egyptian Relations Interview (Egyptian Daily al-Masry al-Youm (in Arabic) January 2009).
• Dan Rather Reports: Target Philippines
  (HDNet Broadcast, January-February 2009).
  Transcript
• Great Decisions: From Pharoahs to Facebook: Egypt Today
  Transcript (PBS Broadcast, February 2009).
• Egypt’s Key Role in Middle East Progress
  Interview (Middle East Progress, May 2008).
  Text Part I: Examining Egypt’s Leadership in the Region
  Text Part II: Walking the Path to Reform in Egypt
• Dealing with Islamists and Democracy Activists in Egypt
  Transcript (Remarks at the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy Annual Conference, May 2008).
• Insight: Egypt
  Interview (Capital Public Radio, November 2008).
• The Future of US-Egyptian Relations
  Transcript (Middle East Institute Annual Conference Panel, November 2008).
• Fixing Mindanao
  Op-Ed (Wall Street Journal Asia, October 2008).