Donald Yamamoto

Donald Yukio Yamamoto (born 1953)[1] is an American diplomat and the current United States Ambassador to Somalia.[2] Before that he was the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs with a term of appointment starting September 3, 2017 until July 23, 2018. Yamamoto previously served as the Senior Vice President, International Programs and Outreach at the National Defense University from 2016–2017. Prior to that, he was Senior Advisor to the Director General of the Foreign Service on personnel reform from 2015–2016; Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Mission Somalia office in Mogadishu in 2016; and in senior positions in Kabul, Mazar e-Sharif, and Bagram, Afghanistan from 2014–2015.[3]

Donald Y. Yamamoto
United States Ambassador to Somalia
Incumbent
Assumed office November 17, 2018
Appointed by	Donald Trump Joe Biden
Preceded by	Stephen Schwartz
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
Acting
In office September 3, 2017 – July 23, 2018
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Linda Thomas-Greenfield
Succeeded by	Tibor P. Nagy
In office March 30, 2013 – August 5, 2013
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Johnnie Carson
Succeeded by	Linda Thomas-Greenfield
United States Ambassador to Ethiopia
In office November 9, 2006 – July 28, 2009
President	George W. Bush Barack Obama
Preceded by	Vicki J. Huddleston
Succeeded by	Donald E. Booth
United States Ambassador to Djibouti
In office September 15, 2000 – June 16, 2003
President	Bill Clinton George W. Bush
Preceded by	Lange Schermerhorn
Succeeded by	Marguerita Dianne Ragsdale
Charge d’Affaires ad interim to Eritrea
In office May 11, 1997 – June 29, 1998
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	John F. Hicks
Succeeded by	William Davis Clarke
Personal details
Born	Donald Yukio Yamamoto 1953 (age 67–68) Seattle, Washington
Children	2
Education	Columbia College (AB) Columbia University (MIA)
Occupation	Diplomat
Awards	Superior Honor Award (4)

He was the former acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (March 30, 2013 to August 5, 2013), U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia (2006–2009) and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary within the Bureau of African Affairs. He was appointed by President George W. Bush in November 2006 and presented his credentials to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in Addis Ababa on December 6, 2006.[4] He was formerly the U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti (2000–2003), and U.S. Ambassador to Eritrea ad interim (1997–1998).

Early life and education

Yamamoto was born in Seattle, Washington and later graduated from Columbia College of Columbia University in 1975 and School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University in 1978.[5][6][7]

Yamamoto entered the United States Foreign Service in 1980, serving primarily in Africa, with assignments in the Middle East and Asia. He received a master's degree from the National War College in 1996 and worked on Capitol Hill on a Congressional Fellowship in 1991.[3]

He is the recipient of a Presidential Distinguished Service Award, Presidential Meritorious Service Award, Secretary's Distinguished Honor Award, over a dozen Senior Performance Awards, the State Department's 2006 Robert Frasure Memorial Award for advancing conflict resolution in Africa, and numerous other awards.[3]

Diplomatic career

U.S.-Chadian relations

From April 22–23, 2006, Yamamoto met with current Chadian President Idriss Déby to discuss Chad's dispute with the World Bank over allocation of its petroleum funds and the possibility of a U.S.-led, United Nations-monitored peace keeping force to end the Chadian-Sudanese conflict.

The Government of Chad repeatedly accused the Government of Sudan of complicity in United Front for Democratic Change incursions from Darfur into eastern Chad. Yamamoto is the first official in any government outside of Chad to repeat this claim, saying, "It is evident that there was safe haven and logistical support provided to rebel groups."[8]

Chad produces around 100,000 bpd (barrels of oil per day, 2013 figures) which travels through the Chad-Cameroon pipeline, owned and operated by US companies ExxonMobil and Chevron and Malaysian Petronas. The Déby administration threatened to cut off the supply of oil at the end of April if the international community did not intervene to end the rebellion or if Exxon Mobil did not pay the government $100 million.[9] The dispute was later resolved, and Chad's oil continues to flow to other countries.

Chadian-Sudanese conflict

Yamamoto tried unsuccessfully to convince President Déby to delay the upcoming presidential election which was held on May 3. He later said, "We held a very direct and private discussion on the issue [of whether to postpone the election]... When people say that it's too late to delay an election... it's never too late to do anything. We must focus on what is important... to have a process in place and actual ability of all the people to participate in the process. Any election that doesn't have full participation of all groups then raises issues that they would have to answer for."[10]

U.S.-Ethiopian relations

Yamamoto met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on April 22, 2006, to discuss the ongoing process of democratization in Ethiopia and the Ethio-Eritrea boundary dispute. Both leaders were positive about the outcome of the meeting.[11]

Assistant Secretary of State

Yamamoto became acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs on March 30, 2013, replacing Johnnie Carson.[12]

U.S. Ambassador to Somalia

On 14 July 2018, President Donald J. Trump nominated Donald Yamamoto as the United States Ambassador to Somalia.[13][14] Yamamoto was subsequently confirmed for the position on 19 October 2018.[15][16] While the US Mission to Somalia is based on the grounds of the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, a permanent diplomatic mission was established in Mogadishu in December 2018.[17][18]

References

1. "Donald Y. Yamamoto (1953–)". Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
2. "Arrival of U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Donald Y. Yamamoto". U.S. Mission to Somalia. November 15, 2018. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
3. "Ambassador Donald Yamamoto". National Defense University. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
4. "Donald Y. Yamamoto sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia". Embassy Press Release. Archived from the original on December 6, 2006. Retrieved December 8, 2006.
5. "US State Department Biography: Donald Y. Yamamoto". Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
6. "CCT Donors 2010–11". Fall 2011. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017.
7. "Donald Yamamoto MIA '78". Columbia SIPA. September 6, 2017. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
8. "Senior US diplomat says 'never too late' to postpone Chad's May election". AFP. April 25, 2006. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
9. "Exxon Mobil still talking with Chad, output normal". Reuters AlertNet. April 26, 2006. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2006.
10. "Diplomat Discussed Delaying Chad Election". Associated Press. April 25, 2006.
11. "Ethiopia: U.S. Views Democratization Process in Ethiopia Positively: Yamamoto". The Ethiopian Herald. April 25, 2006. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2006.
12. "Meet Donald Yamamoto, the man replacing Johnnie Carson". Jambo. April 2, 2013. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
13. Getachew, Samuel (July 14, 2018). "Trump appoints Yamamoto as US ambassador to Somalia". The Reporter. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
14. "Statement of Donald Y. Yamamoto" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. August 23, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
15. "Statement by Ambassador Yamamoto on U.S. Support to Somalia". U.S. Mission to Somalia. December 18, 2018. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
16. "Donald Y. Yamamoto". United States Department of State. October 19, 2018. Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
17. "US Restores 'Permanent Diplomatic Presence' in Somalia". VOA News. December 5, 2018. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
18. Finnegan, Conor (December 4, 2018). "US reopens permanent diplomatic facility in Somalia after nearly 28 years". ABC News. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN