UNITED STATES SENATE
SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of
Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service
Act, Section 304(a)(4)
POST: Republic of the Sudan
CANDIDATE: John T. Godfrey
John T. Godfrey, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, is currently the Acting Counterterrorism Coordinator and the Acting Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in the Counterterrorism Bureau of the U.S. Department of State. Prior to that he was the Principal Deputy Coordinator of the Counterterrorism Bureau and before that the Bureau’s Deputy Coordinator for Regional and Multilateral Affairs. Mr. Godfrey previously served as the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission and the Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of State. His demonstrated ability to work effectively across interagency lines on complex counterterrorism issues, his knowledge of Africa and the Middle East, and his experience as a leader in the field – including in challenging security environments – make him a well-qualified candidate to be the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Sudan.
Mr. Godfrey’s other previous assignments include serving as Arms Control Counselor to the U.S. Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna, Austria, as Deputy Political Counselor (Northern Affairs) at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, and as the Political & Economic Counselor and Acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya.
Mr. Godfrey earned his B.A. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his M.A. degree from the University of Michigan. He is the recipient of numerous State Department awards, including multiple performance awards for his work in the Senior Foreign Service. He speaks Arabic and has studied Russian and Italian.