Gregory B.Starr
Acting Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security, and Director of the Diplomatic Security Service
Gregory B. Starr became Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security and Director of the Diplomatic Security Service on February 1, 2013. On that date he also was named acting Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security.
Mr. Starr is in charge of the security and law enforcement arm of the State Department. Diplomatic Security is responsible for providing a safe and secure environment for the conduct of U.S. foreign policy throughout the world. Mr. Starr leads a force of Special Agents, Diplomatic Couriers, Security Engineering Officers, Security Technical Specialists, general service staff, and other specialists. He previously served as Director of the Diplomatic Security Service from April 2007 until his retirement in May 2009.
From May 2009 until January 2013, Mr. Starr served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security. In that capacity, he oversaw the formulation of security policies and the implementation of programs to ensure the conduct of activities in a secure environment at U.N. headquarters and overseas locations around the globe.
From July 2004 through March 2007, Mr. Starr served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Countermeasures where he was responsible for formulating security policy and plans for countermeasures in the areas of physical security, technical security, and Diplomatic Courier operations for the Department’s overseas and domestic operations and facilities. As Deputy Assistant Secretary, Mr. Starr worked to transform the Countermeasures Directorate into a fully integrated global security operation that collects, transmits, and analyzes information and data from hundreds of Department of State facilities and sites worldwide.
Other domestic assignments for Mr. Starr have included the Director of the Office of Physical Security Programs (2000-2004), Division Chief for worldwide local guard and residential security programs (1995-1997), and assignments to the Secretary’s detail, technical security operations, and the New York Field Office.
His overseas assignments have included Senior Regional Security Officer at the U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv (1997-2000), as well as Regional Security Officer positions in Tunis, Tunisia; Dakar, Senegal; and Kinshasa, Zaire (presently the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Mr. Starr is the recipient of numerous Department of State awards including Senior Foreign Service Performance awards, and Superior and Meritorious Honor awards. He began his career as a Special Agent in July 1980 and joined the ranks of the Senior Foreign Service in 2001. Before his retirement from the U.S. Department of State in 2009, Mr. Starr held the rank of Minister Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service.
A New York native, Mr. Starr received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Masters degree in Forensic Science from the George Washington University.
February 2013
