MICHAEL KLOSSON
UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO CYPRUS

SPEECHES AND ARTICLES
BY AMBASSADOR KLOSSON

Ambassador Michael Klosson, a career Foreign Service officer with 27 years of experience in Europe, East Asia, and senior State Department positions, was sworn in August 19, 2002 as the next U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus.

Ambassador Klosson advanced American foreign policy interests across a broad range of issues, including over 10 years of assignments working in support of a strong and stable Europe closely allied and related to the United States in the broader transatlantic partnership. From 1984-87, Ambassador Klosson served as Deputy Director of the State Department’s Office of European Security and Political Affairs, and focused on NATO and OSCE matters. Following three years as the Secretariat Staff Director in the Office of the Secretary of State, Ambassador Klosson was posted to Europe. From 1990-96, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, and at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Ambassador Klosson's most recent senior management positions include Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, 1996–1999, during which he worked with Congress on regional political issues, including NATO enlargement, Bosnia, Kosovo, and China. From 1999-2002, he served as U.S. Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau, directing a mission comprised of 15 U.S. Government agencies.

Earlier in his career Ambassador Klosson served as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of State (1980-82), working for both Secretary Alexander Haig and Secretary George Shultz. Mr. Klosson then spent nine months as a State Department Pearson Fellow on the staff of United States Senator Edward Kennedy. Prior to these assignments, he served in Taiwan and worked in the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs in Washington.

Ambassador Klosson was born August 22, 1949, in Washington, D.C. A member of the honor society of Phi Beta Kappa, he graduated magna cum laude from Hamilton College (B.A. 1971) and Princeton University (M.P.A. 1974 and M.A. 1975). He was awarded a Herbert H. Lehman Fellowship, a Winston Churchill Fellowship and six Department of State Superior Honor Awards. He has studied French, Swedish, and Chinese (Mandarin). His wife, Boni, recently retired from the Foreign Service. They have two daughters, Emily and Karen.