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James B. Cunningham

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James Cunningham
Official portrait
20th United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
In office
August 13, 2012 – December 7, 2014
PresidentBarack Obama
DeputyTina Kaidanow
Preceded byRyan Crocker
Succeeded byMichael McKinley
United States Ambassador to Israel
In office
September 17, 2008 – May 21, 2011
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Barack Obama
Preceded byRichard Jones
Succeeded byDaniel B. Shapiro
United States Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau
In office
August 4, 2005 – July 2008
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byJames R. Keith
Succeeded byJoseph R. Donovan Jr.
United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Acting
In office
January 20, 2001 – September 19, 2001
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byRichard Holbrooke
Succeeded byJohn Negroponte
Personal details
Born1952 (age 71–72)
Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
SpouseLeslie Genier[1]
Alma materSyracuse University (BA)

James Blair Cunningham (born 1952) is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan.[2]

Cunningham previously served in various diplomatic positions, including chief of staff to NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner (1989–1990), Deputy Advisor for Political Affairs at the United States Mission to the United Nations (1990–1992), Director of the State Department's Office of European Security and Political Affairs (1993-1995), Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the United States in Rome (1996–2001), acting United States Ambassador to the United Nations (2001), Consul General of the United States to Hong Kong and Macau (2005-2008), and United States Ambassador to Israel (2008–2011).

Early life and education

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Cunningham was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He graduated magna cum laude from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 1974, with degrees in political science and psychology.

Career

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He has served as the Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the United States in Rome before becoming an ambassador to the United Nations. He has spent most of his career working on European political and security issues, and in multilateral diplomacy.

He served from 1989 to 1990 as Chief of Staff to NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner. His responsibilities included advising the Secretary General on the entire range of NATO issues in the context of the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union.

Cunningham became Deputy Advisor for Political Affairs at the United States Mission to the United Nations in August 1990, just after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. He returned to Washington, D.C., as Deputy Director of the State Department's Office of European Security and Political Affairs in 1992, becoming Director in 1993. As Director, he was involved in many aspects of U.S. policy toward Europe, including NATO, arms control and disarmament, and Bosnia. After a year of senior officer development training, he took up his duties in Rome in August 1996.[3]

As Consul General, (from 2005–2008) Cunningham was responsible for Hong Kong and Macau, both special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China.

Cunningham became the Chairman of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) in 2021. CFHK is a US-based non-profit organisation, which presses for the preservation of freedom, democracy, and international law in Hong Kong. [4]

Personal life

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He is married to Leslie Genier of Mineville, New York. The couple have two daughters, Emma and Abigail.[1]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b "James B. Cunningham To be Sworn-In as Deputy Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, December 15, 1999". Archived from the original on November 12, 2005. Retrieved June 15, 2007.
  2. ^ "Deputy Ambassador". United States Department of State, U.S. Embassy Kabul. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
  3. ^ "James B. Cunningham - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  4. ^ "Our Leadership". Archived from the original on 2022-02-12. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Acting

2001
Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau
2005–2008
Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Israel
2008–2011
Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
2012–2014
Succeeded by