REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4)
POST: State of Libya
CANDIDATE: Richard B. Norland
Ambassador Richard B. Norland, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, has served as the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at The Pentagon, Washington, D.C. since 2016. He has served twice as U.S Ambassador; first in Uzbekistan (2007-2010), and then in Georgia (2012-2015). Ambassador Norland was the State Department Senior Fellow at Georgetown University (2015-2016) and the Deputy Commandant and International Affairs Advisor at the National War College, Ft. McNair (2010-2012). He also served as the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan (2005-2007). His distinguished record of leadership, his broad grasp of complex geo-political security issues, and his proven ability to manage diverse interagency teams in difficult environments, make him an excellent choice to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Libya.
Earlier in his career Ambassador Norland served as the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Riga, Latvia, as a Political Officer to the U.S. Army Civil Affairs team in Mazar-e-sharif, Afghanistan, and as a Director, European Affairs, for the National Security Council. He held numerous other positions in Washington and overseas, including service in Armenia, Russia, Norway and Bahrain.
Ambassador Norland earned a B.S. from Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service in 1977 and a Masters of International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Washington, D.C. in 1992. He earned a Masters of National Security Strategy degree from the National War College, Washington, D.C. in 2002. Ambassador Norland is the recipient of numerous honors including multiple State Department Superior Honor Awards and a Presidential Distinguished Service Award. His foreign languages include French, Russian, and Norwegian.