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Peter Tomsen

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Peter Tomsen
Peter Tomsen as envoy to Afghan resistance, circa 1989
United States Ambassador toArmenia
In office
September 6, 1995 – September 6, 1998
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byHarry J. Gilmore
Succeeded byMichael C. Lemmon
Personal details
Born(1940-11-19)November 19, 1940(age 83)
Cleveland, Ohio,U.S.
Alma materWittenberg University
University of Pittsburgh
OccupationDiplomat

Peter Tomsen(born November 19, 1940) is an American retired diplomat and educator, serving as U.S.Special Envoyto Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992,[1]United States Ambassador to Armeniabetween 1995 and 1998,[2][3][4][5]and wasDeputy Ambassadorat theUnited States Embassy in Beijingfrom 1986 to 1989.[6]Ambassador Tomsen’s thirty-two year diplomatic career emphasizedSouthandCentral Asia,Northeast Asiaand the formerSoviet Union.

Early life

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Tomsen was born inCleveland,Ohioon November 19, 1940.[7]He graduated fromSycamore High SchoolinCincinnati, Ohio,and attended college atWittenberg UniversityinSpringfield, Ohio,receiving a degree in political science in 1962. Tomsen was awarded a Heinz fellowship for post-graduate studies at theUniversity of Pittsburgh.Receiving his master's degree in public and international affairs, Tomsen spent two years working in thePeace CorpsinNepal.[8]Tomsen studiedNepaliand taughtcivicsandEnglishin a newly founded 80-student college in aHimalayantown in western Nepal. Tomsen chose to extend his Peace Corps service for six months to be headmaster of aTibetanrefugee school.

Diplomatic and political career

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Ambassador 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 toArmeniafrom 1995 to 1998.[9]He was deputy chief of mission of theU.S. Embassy in Beijing,spanning from 1986 to 1989. He served in the political-military office of theU.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 inSouth Vietnam,1969 - 1970. He was a political officer of theU.S. Embassy in New Delhi,1971 - 1975; a political officer of theU.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 ofIndia,Nepal,Sri Lanka,Bhutan,and theMaldives.[6]
1989-1992: US Special Envoy toAfghanistan.[better source needed][1]

Selected works

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  • Tomsen, Peter (July 12, 2011).The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers.New York: PublicAffairs.ISBN978-1-58648-763-8.[10][11]
  • Tomsen, Peter (December 2000 – February 2001)."Geopolitics of an Afghan Settlement".Perceptions, Journal of International Affairs.5(4). Archived fromthe originalon September 27, 2011.RetrievedJuly 28,2011.

References

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  1. ^abTomsen, Peter (December 12, 2001)."Stabilizing post-Taliban Afghanistan".
  2. ^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.ISBN978-1-60127-024-5.RetrievedJuly 28,2011.
  3. ^Kleveman, Lutz (2004).The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia.Grove Press. p. 246.ISBN0-8021-4172-2.RetrievedJuly 28,2011.
  4. ^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).ISBN9781616402198.RetrievedJuly 28,2011.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^Mukarji, Apratim (2003).Afghanistan, from terror to freedom.Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 59.ISBN81-207-2542-5.RetrievedJuly 28,2011.
  6. ^abBush, 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.Archived fromthe originalon January 11, 2022.
  7. ^"Peter Tomsen is envoy to Afghan resistance".Department of State News Letter(324). U.S. Department of State: 11. July 1989.
  8. ^"Peter Tomsen, Ambassador in Residence"(PDF).Center for Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha. 2005.RetrievedJuly 28,2011.
  9. ^"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
  10. ^"The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers".Kirkus Reviews. May 15, 2011.RetrievedJuly 28,2011.
  11. ^Silverman, Jerry Mark."The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and The Failures of Great Powers".New York Journal of Books.RetrievedJuly 28,2011.
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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Armenia
1995–1998 		Succeeded by
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