On April 1, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Robert Godec as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand. On April 5, 2022, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee received the nomination.
Robert F. Godec, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister, currently serves as Senior Coordinator for Afghanistan in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration at the U.S. Department of State. Before that, he was Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs. He previously served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs. Earlier, Godec was Deputy Commandant and International Affairs Advisor at the National War College. He was U.S. Ambassador to Kenya from 2013 to 2019. Godec was also Chargé d’Affaires a.i. at U.S. Embassy Nairobi, Kenya, in 2012. Before his assignment in Nairobi, Godec was the Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism in the Bureau of Counterterrorism in the Department of State. Previously, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia. Godec has also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and was Deputy Coordinator for the Transition in Iraq. He served as Acting Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa. His other positions include Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya; Assistant Office Director for Thailand and Burma in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs; and Director for Southeast Asian Affairs at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
A member of the Foreign Service since 1985, Godec has a Master’s degree from Yale University and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia. He received two Presidential Meritorious Service Awards, numerous Senior Performance Awards, and a Distinguished Honor Award. He speaks French and German.
