James B. Cunningham

James Cunningham
Official portrait
20th United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
In office August 13, 2012 – December 7, 2014
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	Tina Kaidanow
Preceded by	Ryan Crocker
Succeeded by	Michael McKinley
United States Ambassador to Israel
In office September 17, 2008 – May 21, 2011
President	George W. Bush Barack Obama
Preceded by	Richard Jones
Succeeded by	Daniel B. Shapiro
United States Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau
In office August 4, 2005 – July 2008
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	James R. Keith
Succeeded by	Joseph R. Donovan Jr.
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Acting
In office January 20, 2001 – September 19, 2001
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Richard Holbrooke
Succeeded by	John Negroponte
Personal details
Born	1952 (age 71–72) Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Spouse	Leslie Genier
Alma mater	Syracuse University (BA)

James Blair Cunningham (born 1952) is an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan.

Cunningham previously served in various diplomatic positions, including chief of staff to NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner (1989–1990), Deputy Advisor for Political Affairs at the United States Mission to the United Nations (1990–1992), Director of the State Department's Office of European Security and Political Affairs (1993-1995), Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the United States in Rome (1996–2001), acting United States Ambassador to the United Nations (2001), Consul General of the United States to Hong Kong and Macau (2005-2008), and United States Ambassador to Israel (2008–2011).

Early life and education

Cunningham was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He graduated magna cum laude from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 1974, with degrees in political science and psychology.

Career

He has served as the Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the United States in Rome before becoming an ambassador to the United Nations. He has spent most of his career working on European political and security issues, and in multilateral diplomacy.

He served from 1989 to 1990 as Chief of Staff to NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner. His responsibilities included advising the Secretary General on the entire range of NATO issues in the context of the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union.

Cunningham became Deputy Advisor for Political Affairs at the United States Mission to the United Nations in August 1990, just after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. He returned to Washington, D.C., as Deputy Director of the State Department's Office of European Security and Political Affairs in 1992, becoming Director in 1993. As Director, he was involved in many aspects of U.S. policy toward Europe, including NATO, arms control and disarmament, and Bosnia. After a year of senior officer development training, he took up his duties in Rome in August 1996.

As Consul General, (from 2005–2008) Cunningham was responsible for Hong Kong and Macau, both special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China.

Cunningham became the Chairman of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) in 2021. CFHK is a US-based non-profit organisation, which presses for the preservation of freedom, democracy, and international law in Hong Kong.

Personal life

He is married to Leslie Genier of Mineville, New York. The couple have two daughters, Emma and Abigail.

Awards

•  U.S. State Department Superior Honor Award
•  U.S. State Department Meritorious Honor Award
•  National Performance Review's Hammer Award

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN