Donald Yamamoto

Donald Yukio Yamamoto (born 1953)[1] is an American diplomat who served as the United States ambassador to Somalia from 2018 to 2021.[2] Before that he was the acting assistant secretary of state for african affairs with a term of appointment starting September 3, 2017 until July 23, 2018. Yamamoto previously served as the senior vice president of International Programs and Outreach at the National Defense University from 2016 to 2017. Prior to that, he was senior advisor to the Director General of the Foreign Service on personnel reform from 2015 to 2016; he served as Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Mission Somalia office in Mogadishu in 2016; and in senior positions in Kabul, Mazar e-Sharif, and Bagram, Afghanistan from 2014 to 2015.[3]

Donald Y. Yamamoto
United States Ambassador to Somalia
In office
November 17, 2018 – July 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byStephen Schwartz
Succeeded byLarry André Jr.
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
Acting
In office
September 3, 2017 – July 23, 2018
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byLinda Thomas-Greenfield
Succeeded byTibor P. Nagy
In office
March 30, 2013 – August 5, 2013
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJohnnie Carson
Succeeded byLinda Thomas-Greenfield
United States Ambassador to Ethiopia
In office
November 9, 2006 – July 28, 2009
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Barack Obama
Preceded byVicki J. Huddleston
Succeeded byDonald E. Booth
United States Ambassador to Djibouti
In office
September 15, 2000 – June 16, 2003
PresidentBill Clinton
George W. Bush
Preceded byLange Schermerhorn
Succeeded byMarguerita Dianne Ragsdale
Charge d’Affaires ad interim to Eritrea
In office
May 11, 1997 – June 29, 1998
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byJohn F. Hicks
Succeeded byWilliam Davis Clarke
Personal details
Born
Donald Yukio Yamamoto

1953 (age 69–70)
Seattle, Washington
Children2
EducationColumbia College (AB)
Columbia University (MIA)
OccupationDiplomat
AwardsSuperior Honor Award (4)

He was the former acting assistant secretary of state for african affairs from March 30, 2013 to August 5, 2013, U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia from 2006 to 2009 and principal deputy assistant secretary within the Bureau of African Affairs. He was appointed by President George W. Bush in November 2006 and presented his credentials to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in Addis Ababa on December 6, 2006.[4] He was formerly the U.S. ambassador to Djibouti from 2000 to 2003 and chargé d’affaires ad interim for Eritrea from 1997 to 1998.[5]

Early life and education

Yamamoto was born in Seattle, Washington to a Japanese immigrant father and a Nisei mother.[6] Yamamoto later graduated from Columbia College of Columbia University in 1975 and School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University in 1978.[7][8][9]

Yamamoto entered the United States Foreign Service in 1980, serving primarily in Africa, with assignments in the Middle East and Asia , including U.S. Embassy Beijing (as staff aide to the Ambassador and Human Rights Officer during the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989),[10] and U.S. Consulate Fukuoka (as Principal Officer, 1992-1995).[11] He received a master's degree from the National War College in 1996 and worked on Capitol Hill on a Congressional Fellowship in 1991.[3]

He is the recipient of a Presidential Distinguished Service Award, Presidential Meritorious Service Award, Secretary's Distinguished Honor Award, over a dozen Senior Performance Awards, the State Department's 2006 Robert Frasure Memorial Award for advancing conflict resolution in Africa, and numerous other awards.[3] He is also one of the youngest diplomats to be promoted to the rank of Career Minister.[12]

Diplomatic career

U.S.-Chadian relations

From April 22–23, 2006, Yamamoto met with current Chadian President Idriss Déby to discuss Chad's dispute with the World Bank over allocation of its petroleum funds and the possibility of a U.S.-led, United Nations-monitored peace keeping force to end the Chadian-Sudanese conflict.

The Government of Chad repeatedly accused the Government of Sudan of complicity in United Front for Democratic Change incursions from Darfur into eastern Chad. Yamamoto is the first official in any government outside of Chad to repeat this claim, saying, "It is evident that there was safe haven and logistical support provided to rebel groups."[13]

Chad produces around 100,000 bpd (barrels of oil per day, 2013 figures) which travels through the Chad-Cameroon pipeline, owned and operated by US companies ExxonMobil and Chevron and Malaysian Petronas. The Déby administration threatened to cut off the supply of oil at the end of April if the international community did not intervene to end the rebellion or if Exxon Mobil did not pay the government $100 million.[14] The dispute was later resolved, and Chad's oil continues to flow to other countries.

Chadian-Sudanese conflict
Main article: Chadian-Sudanese conflict

Yamamoto tried unsuccessfully to convince President Déby to delay the upcoming presidential election which was held on May 3. He later said, "We held a very direct and private discussion on the issue [of whether to postpone the election]... When people say that it's too late to delay an election... it's never too late to do anything. We must focus on what is important... to have a process in place and actual ability of all the people to participate in the process. Any election that doesn't have full participation of all groups then raises issues that they would have to answer for."[15]

U.S.-Ethiopian relations
Yamamoto in 2010

Yamamoto met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on April 22, 2006, to discuss the ongoing process of democratization in Ethiopia and the Ethio-Eritrea boundary dispute. Both leaders were positive about the outcome of the meeting.[16] In 2021 a widely circulated video showed Yamamato consulting with a TPLF representative on TPLF's military operation to overthrow the Ethiopian government.[17]

Assistant secretary of state

Yamamoto became acting assistant secretary of state for african affairs on March 30, 2013, replacing Johnnie Carson.[18]

U.S. ambassador to Somalia

On 14 July 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Donald Yamamoto as the United States ambassador to Somalia.[19][20] Yamamoto was subsequently confirmed for the position on 19 October 2018.[21][22] While the US Mission to Somalia is based on the grounds of the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, a permanent diplomatic mission was established in Mogadishu in December 2018.[23][24]

Personal life

Yamamoto speaks Japanese, Chinese and French.

References
  1. "Donald Y. Yamamoto (1953–)". Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  2. "Arrival of U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Donald Y. Yamamoto". U.S. Mission to Somalia. November 15, 2018. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  3. "Ambassador Donald Yamamoto". National Defense University. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. "Donald Y. Yamamoto sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia". Embassy Press Release. Archived from the original on December 6, 2006. Retrieved December 8, 2006.
  5. "Donald Yamamoto". Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  6. "A Dedication to Service: Ambassador Donald Yamamoto - National Museum of American Diplomacy". May 14, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  7. "US State Department Biography: Donald Y. Yamamoto". Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
  8. "CCT Donors 2010–11". Fall 2011. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017.
  9. "Donald Yamamoto MIA '78". Columbia SIPA. September 6, 2017. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  10. "Donald Y. Yamamoto: U.S. Ambassador To Ethiopia". Embassay of the United States, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  11. "在福岡アメリカ領事館 歴代首席領事" [Past Principal Officers, Consulate of the United States in Fukuoka]. U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Japan. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  12. "A Dedication to Service: Ambassador Donald Yamamoto - National Museum of American Diplomacy". May 14, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  13. "Senior US diplomat says 'never too late' to postpone Chad's May election". AFP. April 25, 2006. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  14. "Exxon Mobil still talking with Chad, output normal". Reuters AlertNet. April 26, 2006. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2006.
  15. "Diplomat Discussed Delaying Chad Election". Associated Press. April 25, 2006.
  16. "Ethiopia: U.S. Views Democratization Process in Ethiopia Positively: Yamamoto". The Ethiopian Herald. April 25, 2006. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2006.
  17. "Ethiopia: The West's Diplomats Meet in Secret to Decide How to Help the TPLF". Jeff Pearce. December 3, 2021. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  18. "Meet Donald Yamamoto, the man replacing Johnnie Carson". Jambo. April 2, 2013. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  19. Getachew, Samuel (July 14, 2018). "Trump appoints Yamamoto as US ambassador to Somalia". The Reporter. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  20. "Statement of Donald Y. Yamamoto" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. August 23, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  21. "Statement by Ambassador Yamamoto on U.S. Support to Somalia". U.S. Mission to Somalia. December 18, 2018. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  22. "Donald Y. Yamamoto". United States Department of State. October 19, 2018. Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  23. "US Restores 'Permanent Diplomatic Presence' in Somalia". VOA News. December 5, 2018. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  24. Finnegan, Conor (December 4, 2018). "US reopens permanent diplomatic facility in Somalia after nearly 28 years". ABC News. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
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