Gentry O. Smith
Gentry O. Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Director of the Office of Foreign Missions | |
| In office June 2015 – January 26 2017 | |
| President | Barack Obama Donald Trump |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1959 (age 64–65) |
| Alma mater | North Carolina State University |
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]
Life and career
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] 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]
Smith is married and has four children.[2]
References
- ^ "Gentry O. Smith - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
- ^ a b http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article29445496.html
- ^ http://www.allgov.com/news/appointments-and-resignations/director-of-the-office-of-foreign-missions-who-is-gentry-smith-140719?news=853729R
- ^ United States Department of State
- ^ http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/politics-columns-blogs/under-the-dome/article10325456.html
- ^ Labott, Elise (January 27, 2017). "Trump administration asks top State Department officials to leave". CNN.
- ^ Halper, Daniel; Fredericks, Bob (January 26, 2017). "Top State Dept. officials exit after Tillerson visit". New York Post.