Peter Tomsen
Peter Tomsen | |
|---|---|
Peter Tomsen as envoy to Afghan resistance, circa 1989 | |
| 2nd United States Ambassador to Armenia | |
| In office September 6, 1995 – September 6, 1998 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Harry J. Gilmore |
| Succeeded by | Michael C. Lemmon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 19, 1940 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Wittenberg University University of Pittsburgh |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
Peter Tomsen (born November 19, 1940) is an American retired diplomat and educator, serving as U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992,[1] United States Ambassador to Armenia between 1995 and 1998,[2][3][4][5] and was Deputy Ambassador at the United States Embassy in Beijing from 1986 to 1989.[6] Tomsen’s thirty-two year diplomatic career emphasized South and Central Asia, Northeast Asia and the former Soviet Union.
Early life
Tomsen was born in Cleveland, Ohio on November 19, 1940.[7] He graduated from Sycamore High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, and attended college at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, receiving a degree in political science in 1962. Tomsen was awarded a Heinz fellowship for post-graduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Receiving his master's degree in public and international affairs, Tomsen spent two years working in the Peace Corps in Nepal.[8] Tomsen studied Nepali and taught civics and English in a newly founded 80-student college in a Himalayan town in western Nepal. Tomsen chose to extend his Peace Corps service for six months to be headmaster of a Tibetan refugee school.
Diplomatic and political career
Tomsen entered the Foreign Service in 1967. He served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 1993 - 1995, and was United States ambassador to Armenia from 1995 to 1998.[9] He was deputy chief of mission of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, spanning from 1986 to 1989. He served in the political-military office of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, 1967 - 1968. After a year of Vietnamese language training in Washington in early 1969, he was assigned to the U.S. Civilian-Military Advisory Organization in South Vietnam, 1969 - 1970. He was a political officer of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, 1971 - 1975; a political officer of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, 1977 - 1978; and a political officer of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, 1981 - 1983. From 1984 to 1987, he served in the Department of State as office director of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives.[6] 1989-1992: US Special Envoy to Afghanistan.[1]
Selected works
- Tomsen, Peter (July 12, 2011). The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-763-8.[10][11]
- Tomsen, Peter (December 2000 – February 2001). "Geopolitics of an Afghan Settlement". Perceptions, Journal of International Affairs. 5 (4). Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
References
- ^ a b Tomsen, Peter (December 12, 2001). "Stabilizing post-Taliban Afghanistan".
- ^ Gutman, Roy (2008). How we missed the story: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and the hijacking of Afghanistan. US Institute of Peace Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-60127-024-5. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
- ^ Kleveman, Lutz (2004). The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia. Grove Press. p. 246. ISBN 0-8021-4172-2. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
- ^ The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks. Cosimo, Inc. 2010. pp. 483 (note). ISBN 9781616402198. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Mukarji, Apratim (2003). Afghanistan, from terror to freedom. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 59. ISBN 81-207-2542-5. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
- ^ a b Bush, George (June 5, 1989). "Accordance of the Personal Rank of Ambassador to Peter Tomsen While Serving as Special Envoy to the Afghan Resistance". White House.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Peter Tomsen is envoy to Afghan resistance". Department of State News Letter (324). U.S. Department of State: 11. July 1989.
- ^ "Peter Tomsen, Ambassador in Residence" (PDF). Center for Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha. 2005. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
- ^ "U.S.-Armenian Relations 1991-2006: A Conversation with Our First Five Ambassadors" US Library of Congress Video archive of 13th annual Vardanants Day lecture program
- ^ "The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers". Kirkus Reviews. May 15, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
- ^ Silverman, Jerry Mark. "The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and The Failures of Great Powers". New York Journal of Books. Archived from the original on November 1, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011.