John R. Bass

John Bass
John Bass
	Bass in 2024
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
	Acting
	Assumed office ; March 22, 2024
President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Victoria Nuland
16th Under Secretary of State for Management
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; December 29, 2021
President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Brian Bulatao
22nd United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
	In office; December 12, 2017 – January 6, 2020
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	P. Michael McKinley
Succeeded by	Ross Wilson (chargé d'affaires)
United States Ambassador to Turkey
	In office; October 20, 2014 – October 15, 2017
President	Barack Obama; Donald Trump
Deputy	Philip Kosnett
Preceded by	Francis J. Ricciardone Jr.
Succeeded by	David M. Satterfield
24th Executive Secretary of the Department of State
	In office; October 8, 2012 – July 18, 2014
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Stephen Mull
Succeeded by	Joseph Macmanus
United States Ambassador to Georgia
	In office; October 16, 2009 – July 17, 2012
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	John F. Tefft
Succeeded by	Richard Norland
Personal details
Born	1964 (age 59–60); New York, U.S.
Spouse	Holly Holzer
Education	Syracuse University (BA)

John Rodney Bass II^[1] (born 1964) is an American diplomat, who has served as the under secretary of state for management since December 2021. He was the United States ambassador to Afghanistan from 2017 to 2020, the United States ambassador to Turkey from 2014 to 2017 and the United States ambassador to Georgia from 2009 to 2012.^[2]^[3]

Career

Bass is from upstate New York.^[2] He graduated from Syracuse University in 1986 and was a newspaper editor and political campaign consultant before joining the Foreign Service in 1988. Shortly after, he was posted to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Chad.^[4]

In 1998, he worked for deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott, first as a special assistant for Europe and Eurasia including as part of the peace negotiations in the Kosovo War. He was later named as Talbott's chief of staff in 2000, coordinating policy on arms reduction with Russia.^[4]

In 2005, Bass was named director of the State Department Operations Center. He was sent to Iraq in 2008 as the leader of a provincial reconstruction team.^[4] He speaks Italian and French.^[2]

Acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs John Bass with Ambassador Brink meeting Ukrainian officials in Kyiv on June 21, 2024

In October 2012, he was appointed Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State and served as the liaison between the State Department's many bureaus and the leadership offices of the Secretary, the Deputy Secretaries, and the Director of Policy Planning.

In October 2017, after the U.S. decided to suspend non-immigrant visa services within Turkey, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the Turkish government would no longer recognize Bass's authority as a U.S. ambassador. The cancellation of visitor visas came after a Turkish court ordered the arrest of an employee of the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul.^[5]^[6]

After the suspension of visa services in Turkey, Bass published a statement on YouTube.^[7]

President Donald Trump named him as his choice to become the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan on July 20, 2017.^[8] On September 28, 2017, his nomination was confirmed by the Senate.^[9] Bass left the position on January 6, 2020.^[10]

On July 21, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated him to serve as Under Secretary of State for Management.^[11] On December 18, 2021, he was confirmed by the Senate.^[12]

Bass was appointed as acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in March 2024, following the resignation of Victoria Nuland.^[13]

References

^ "PN962 — Foreign Service". U.S. Congress. April 27, 1988. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Ambassador Biography". Embassy of the United States Ankara, Turkey. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
^ "Former Ambassadors". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Turkey. Retrieved 2018-07-07.
^ ^a ^b ^c "U.S. Ambassador to Turkey: Who Is John R. Bass?". ALLGOV. August 10, 2014.
^ Tuysuz, Gul; Koran, Laura (October 10, 2017). "Erdogan: Turkey does not recognize US ambassador after visa spat". CNN. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
^ Cunningham, Erin; Fahim, Kareen (October 8, 2017). "U.S. and Turkey announce tit-for-tat travel restrictions, a sign of deteriorating alliance". Washington Post. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
^ "Ambassador John Bass' statement on the suspension of visa services in Turkey". 9 October 2017 – via www.youtube.com.
^ Bowden, John (July 20, 2017). "Trump to nominate Turkey envoy for ambassador to Afghanistan". The Hill. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
^ Lardner, Richard. "Senate confirms Huntsman as US ambassador to Russia". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
^ Jakes, Lara (January 6, 2020). "John Bass, U.S. Envoy to Afghanistan, Steps Down on Cusp of New Peace Deal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
^ "President Biden Announces Four Key Foreign Policy Nominations". The White House. 21 July 2021.
^ "PN922 - Nomination of John R. Bass for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". US Congress. 18 December 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
^ "On the Retirement of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 7 April 2024.

External links

John R. Bass at the Office of the Historian

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by John Tefft	United States Ambassador to Georgia 2009–2012	Succeeded by Richard Norland
Preceded by Francis Ricciardone	United States Ambassador to Turkey 2014–2017	Succeeded by Philip Kosnett (chargé d'affaires a.i)
Preceded by P. Michael McKinley	United States Ambassador to Afghanistan 2017–2020	Succeeded by Ross Wilson (chargé d'affaires)
Political offices
Preceded by Stephen Mull	Executive Secretary of the Department of State 2012–2014	Succeeded by Joseph Macmanus
Preceded by Brian Bulatao	Under Secretary of State for Management 2021–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Victoria Nuland	Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Acting 2024–present	Incumbent

[1] "PN962 — Foreign Service". U.S. Congress. April 27, 1988. Retrieved 3 July 2018.

[Ambassador_bio-2] "Ambassador Biography". Embassy of the United States Ankara, Turkey. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.

[3] "Former Ambassadors". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Turkey. Retrieved 2018-07-07.

[U.S._Ambassador_to_Turkey:_Who_Is_John_R._Bass?-4] "U.S. Ambassador to Turkey: Who Is John R. Bass?". ALLGOV. August 10, 2014.

[5] Tuysuz, Gul; Koran, Laura (October 10, 2017). "Erdogan: Turkey does not recognize US ambassador after visa spat". CNN. Retrieved July 6, 2018.

[6] Cunningham, Erin; Fahim, Kareen (October 8, 2017). "U.S. and Turkey announce tit-for-tat travel restrictions, a sign of deteriorating alliance". Washington Post. Retrieved July 6, 2018.

[7] "Ambassador John Bass' statement on the suspension of visa services in Turkey". 9 October 2017 – via www.youtube.com.

[thehillbowdentrumptonominate-8] Bowden, John (July 20, 2017). "Trump to nominate Turkey envoy for ambassador to Afghanistan". The Hill. Retrieved July 21, 2017.

[9] Lardner, Richard. "Senate confirms Huntsman as US ambassador to Russia". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved September 28, 2017.

[10] Jakes, Lara (January 6, 2020). "John Bass, U.S. Envoy to Afghanistan, Steps Down on Cusp of New Peace Deal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 6, 2020.

[11] "President Biden Announces Four Key Foreign Policy Nominations". The White House. 21 July 2021.

[12] "PN922 - Nomination of John R. Bass for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". US Congress. 18 December 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.

[13] "On the Retirement of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 7 April 2024.

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v t e United States ambassadors to Turkey
Ottoman Empire
Chargé d'Affaires	Erving Porter
Minister Resident	Porter Carr Marsh Spence Williams Morris MacVeagh Boker Maynard Longstreet
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary	Wallace Cox Straus Hirsch Thompson Terrell Angell Straus Leishman
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	Leishman Straus Rockhill Morgenthau Elkus
Republic of Turkey
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary	Grew Sherrill Skinner MacMurray Steinhardt Wilson Wadsworth McGhee A Warren F Warren Hare Hart Komer Handley Macomber Spiers Spain Strausz-Hupé Abramowitz Barkley Grossman Parris Pearson Edelman Wilson Jeffrey Ricciardone Baily Bass Satterfield Flake

v t e United States ambassadors to Afghanistan
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary (1935–1948)	Hornibrook Dreyfus Thayer (chargé d'affaires) Engert Palmer
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (1948–1979)	Palmer Dreyfus Merrell Ward Tibbetts Mills Byroade Steeves Robert Neumann Eliot Dubs
Chargés d'affaires (1979–1989)	Amstutz Quinn Mills Dunbar Hurwitz Ealum Glassman
The embassy was closed from January 30, 1989, to January 17, 2002; the liaison office reopened on December 17, 2001.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (2001–2021)	Dobbins (chargé d'affaires) Crocker (chargé d'affaires) Finn Khalilzad Ronald Neumann Wood Eikenberry Crocker Cunningham McKinley Llorens (chargé d'affaires) Bass Wilson (chargé d'affaires)
The embassy transferred operations to Qatar on August 31, 2021.
Chargés d'affaires (2021–present)	McCary Decker

v t e United States Department of State
Headquarters: Harry S Truman Building Antony Blinken, Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell, Deputy Secretary of State Richard R. Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources John R. Bass, Acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Deputy Secretary of State and Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources	Office of Foreign Assistance Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Office of the U.S. Coordinator for the Arctic Region
Under Secretary for Political Affairs	Bureau of African Affairs Bureau of Counterterrorism Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau of International Organization Affairs (United States Mission to the United Nations) Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs
Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment	Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs Bureau of Energy Resources Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Office of the Chief Economist Office of Global Food Security Office of Global Partnerships Office of the Science and Technology Advisor to the Secretary
Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security	Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau of Political-Military Affairs International Security Advisory Board
Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs	Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau of Global Public Affairs Global Engagement Center International Expositions Unit Office of Global Youth Issues Office of Policy, Planning, and Resources for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy
Under Secretary for Management	Bureau of Administration Bureau of Budget and Planning Bureau of Consular Affairs Bureau of Diplomatic Security Bureau of Global Talent Management Bureau of Information Resource Management Bureau of Medical Services Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services Foreign Service Institute (Office of the Historian) Office of Foreign Missions Director of Diplomatic Reception Rooms Office of Management Strategy and Solutions Office of White House Liaison
Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights	Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Office of Global Criminal Justice Office of International Religious Freedom Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Bureaus/Offices reporting directly to the Secretary	Chief of Staff Office of the Counselor Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy Bureau of Intelligence and Research Bureau of Legislative Affairs Executive Secretariat (Operations Center) Policy Planning Staff (Foreign Affairs Policy Board) Office of Civil Rights Office of Diversity and Inclusion Office of Global Women's Issues Office of Inspector General Office of the Chief of Protocol Office of the Legal Adviser Office of the Ombudsman Office of the Secretary's Special Representative for Syria Engagement Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Office of the Special Representative for Venezuela Office of the United States Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority Office of the U.S. Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment Iran Action Group Foreign Service Grievance Board Secretary's Open Forum

Career

See also

References

External links