James Bishop (diplomat)

James Keough Bishop Jr. (born July 21, 1938) is an American Foreign Service Officer, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Niger (1979–81), Liberia (1987-90), and Somalia (1990–91).

James Bishop
Bishop (right) with Ronald Reagan, 1987
Born	(1938-07-21) July 21, 1938 (age 87) New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
Education	College of the Holy Cross (BS) Johns Hopkins University (MIIP)
Occupation	Diplomat
Years active	1960-1993[1]: 4, 117
Known for	U.S. Ambassador to Niger (1979-81), Liberia (1987-90), and Somalia (1990-91)

Bishop's last ambassadorial posting to Somalia ended in a rescue by the U.S. military in Operation Eastern Exit, when the embassy came under threat as a result of military action in the Somali Civil War.

Biography

Early life and education

Bishop was born July 21, 1938, in New Rochelle, New York^[2] to James Keough Bishop Sr. and Dorothy (née O'Keefe).^[3] He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross (B.S., 1960) and Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (M.I.I.P., 1981).^[2][4]

Diplomatic career

After graduating from college in 1960, Bishop entered the Foreign Service in 1960, where he held the following diplomatic positions:

• press officer at the Department of State, 1961–63
• vice consul in Auckland, New Zealand, 1963–66
• consul in Beirut, Lebanon, 1966
• economic officer in Beirut, Lebanon, 1966–68
• economic officer in Yaoundé, Cameroon, 1968–70
• desk officer for Chad, Gabon, Mauritius and Madagascar, 1970–72
• desk officer for Ghana and Togo, 1972–74
• Deputy Director for West Africa at the Department of State, 1974–76
• Director of North African Affairs at the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs at the Department of State, 1977–79
• Ambassador to the Republic of Niger, 1979–81
• Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs at the Department of State, 1981–87
• Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia, 1987-90^[4]
• Ambassador to the Somali Democratic Republic, 1990-91^[5]
• Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, 1991-93^[6][7]

Bishop retired from the Foreign Service in 1993.^[7]

Personal life

Bishop and his wife mechanical engineer Kathleen Marie Kirby (February 14, 1947 – September 29, 2011)^[8] have six children and were married from 1977 until Kathleen death.^[3][4] Bishop and his first wife, attorney Ann Bishop Richardson(December 15, 1940 – April 17, 2012), were married from 1970 to 1976 and have three children and two grandchildren.^[9] He is Roman Catholic.^[7]