Gentry O. Smith

Gentry O. Smith (born 1959) is an American foreign service officer. From June 2015 to January 2017, he was director of the Office of Foreign Missions.[1]

Gentry O. Smith
Director of the Office of Foreign Missions
In office
June 2015 – January 26 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Personal details
Born1959 (age 61–62)
Alma materNorth Carolina State University

Early life and education

Smith was born to two schoolteachers in Halifax County, North Carolina. He attended Weldon High School in Weldon, North Carolina. He ran track and field and played wide receiver and defensive end on the school's American football team. He graduated from North Carolina State University, and served as a police officer in the Raleigh Police Department for four years, through 1987, when he went to work for the United States Department of State.[2]

Career

In 2000, he was deputy regional security officer in Cairo. In 2004, he was regional security officer in Tokyo. He was director of the Office of Physical Security Programs. In 2009, he was as Deputy Assistant Secretary, and Assistant Director for Countermeasures.[3][4] In 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Smith as Director of the Office of Foreign Missions.[5]

On January 26, 2017, when Rex Tillerson, Donald Trump's nominee for United States Secretary of State, visited the United States State Department, Smith, Patrick F. Kennedy, Joyce Anne Barr, and Michele Bond were all simultaneously asked to resign.[6][7]

In November 2020, Smith was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the United States Department of State.[8]

Personal life

Smith is married and has four children.[2]

References
  1. "Gentry O. Smith - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  2. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article29445496.html
  3. "AllGov - News". www.allgov.com.
  4. "Smith, Gentry O. - Deputy Assistant Secretary and Assistant Director for Countermeasures". U.S. Department of State.
  5. http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article10325456.html
  6. Labott, Elise (January 27, 2017). "Trump administration asks top State Department officials to leave". CNN.
  7. Halper, Daniel; Fredericks, Bob (January 26, 2017). "Top State Dept. officials exit after Tillerson visit". New York Post.
  8. "Agency Review Teams". President-Elect Joe Biden. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
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