The current US Ambassador to Ukraine John Tefft will be replaced with career diplomat Geoffrey Pyatt, according to the official website of the White House. US President Barack Obama announcing the candidacy of the future Ambassador to Ukraine, along with other officials, who will hold key positions in his administration, said: “These dedicated and accomplished individuals will be valued additions to my Administration as we tackle the important challenges facing America. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”
What concerns Geoffrey Pyatt, the site of the US Department of State describes him as “a Senior Foreign Service officer whose 22-year State Department career has focused on Asia and Latin America.” His curriculum vitae reads: “Mr. Pyatt became Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the South and Central Asia Affairs Bureau in May 2010. Prior to that, from August 2007, he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency and International Organizations in Vienna.”
Prior to this appointment Pyatt has not yet served as an ambassador but only was a part of the US diplomatic missions in Asia and Latin America in different years. In particular, “he was Political Officer in New Delhi, India from 1992-94 and Economic Officer and Vice-Consul in Tegucigalpa, Honduras from 1990-92.”
Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he worked with The Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank that brings together leading citizens of the Americas. Mr. Pyatt grew up in La Jolla, California and holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from Yale and B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine. Pyatt is married and has two children.
Pyatt will finally be appointed the head of the US diplomatic mission in Ukraine after his candidacy is approved at the hearing of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the US Senate.
The Day asked the former Ukraine’s Ambassador to the US (2005-10) Oleh SHAMSHUR to comment on the decision of Barack Obama’s nomination of Geoffrey Pyatt to become the Ambassador to Kyiv.
“Personally I do not know him. But from what I have heard about him, including the opinions of American diplomats, I understand that he is a strong and, certainly, professional man, a seasoned career diplomat. His nomination can be viewed as following: the fact that a career diplomat and not a political appointee has been appointed to this position indicates that the US considers Ukraine to be a country which has some problems that require constant professional attention. Only a professional can deal with it the best. The fact that Pyatt spent most of his time in Latin America and Asia indicates that, even considering the substantial training that the US diplomats and ambassadors receive before going to the country of accreditation, it will take time for him to understand Ukrainian and regional realities with which he hasn’t had a chance to work before.
“Besides, we have examples, when certain diplomats, who did not work even close with the problems of a region, were appointed to such positions and became quite successful US ambassadors to Ukraine. In a way it might be a certain obstacle. But, on the other hand, I don’t see any compelling reason in this that would prevent him from becoming a normal and effective ambassador in the future.
“Pyatt’s task will be also complicated by the fact that he has no experience of working as an ambassador. However, he was in Vienna and Delhi as Deputy Ambassador – it’s a good school. The fact that he worked there and dealt with problems of the OSCE will help him to get hang of things in Ukraine both in the context of Ukraine’s chairmanship in the OSCE and in getting acquainted with the problems that are in the competence of this international organization.”
