This biography is no longer current; at present, no other official Department of State biographical information is available.
John Melvin Jones is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, and recently completed a posting as Special Advisor for the office of the Coordinator for Stabilization and Reconstruction in Iraq. In the Foreign Service since 1981, Mr. Jones has also served as the Provincial Reconstruction Team Leader in Diyala Province, Iraq and was a Senior Inspector in the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of State. Mr. Jones has served as Deputy Director twice (Office of West African Affairs and Office of Regional Military and Political Affairs), and has been the Deputy Chief of Mission in Burkina Faso. His earlier postings include Honduras, Belgium, Thailand, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Jones had his own private law practice in Pennsylvania before moving on to the faculties of Penn State University and George Mason University, respectively. He later served as Staff Counsel to the Congressional Joint Select Committee on Immigration and Refugee Policy.
The recipient of many awards, Mr. Jones has received the Time Magazine “Current Events Award” and has also been awarded several Meritorious and Superior awards for Honor and Performance at the Department of State. He earned his Bachelor’s degree and JD at Howard University, and his MBA at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds an MS in Strategic Studies from the National Defense University.
Mr. Jones speaks 4 languages: Spanish, French, Vietnamese and Portuguese.
