This biography is no longer current; at present, no other official Department of State biographical information is available.
A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Eric G. John was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to Thailand on October 22, 2007.
Ambassador John joined the Foreign Service in 1983 and has served primarily in East Asia. From 2005 to 2007, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Southeast Asian Affairs in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. From 2002 to 2005, Ambassador John was the Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Korea.
Ambassador John has served three tours in Korea, and has been the Deputy Director of Korean Affairs in Washington. He served as the Deputy Principal Officer of the U.S Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and in the Orderly Departure Program at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. He also served at the U.S. Embassy in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
Mr. John grew up in New Castle, Indiana. He holds a B.S. in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and a graduate degree in National Security Studies from the National War College. His foreign languages are Korean and Vietnamese.
