Francisco O. Mora

For persons of a similar name, see Francisco Mora (disambiguation).

Francisco O. Mora
21st United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States
Incumbent
Assumed office January 18, 2023
President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Carlos Trujillo
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere
In office 2009–2013
President	Barack Obama
Personal details
Nationality	American
Education	George Washington University (BA) University of Miami (MA, PhD)

Francisco O. "Frank" Mora is an American academic who has served as the United States ambassador to the Organization of American States since January 2023.

Education

Mora earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs at the George Washington University. He received his Master of Arts. in Inter-American Studies and a Doctor of Philosophy in International Affairs from the University of Miami.^[1] He also studied at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in 1984 and participated in a program on Central American studies in 1988 in Costa Rica.^[2]

Career

Mora served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere from 2009 to 2013.^[3][2] He held several teaching positions, including Professor of National Security Strategy and Latin American Studies at the National War College at the National Defense University from 2004 to 2009, and associate professor and chair in the department of international studies at Rhodes College from 2000 to 2004.^[3] He previously served as director of the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center at FIU's Green School of International and Public Affairs. He is a professor of politics and international relations, and senior researcher, at the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University.^[1] He is the author of five books, including Neighborly Adversaries: U.S.-Latin American Relations (2015); Paraguay and the United States: Distant Allies (2008) and Latin American and Caribbean Foreign Policy (2003);^[3] and numerous articles and other publications.

Ambassadorship nomination

On July 29, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Mora to be the next United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States.^[1][4] On August 2, 2021, his nomination was sent to the Senate.^[5] Hearings on his nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 18, 2022. The committee favorably reported his nomination to the Senate floor on June 23, 2022. The Senate confirmed him by a 51–45 vote on December 14, 2022.^[6] He was sworn in on December 30, 2022,^[7] and he presented his credentials to the Organization of American States on January 18, 2023.^[8]

Awards and recognition

Mora is a recipient of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service, Department of Defense.^[1]

Personal life

Mora speaks Spanish and Portuguese.^[1]

References

1. "President Biden Announces Six Key Nominations" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. July 29, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. "Biden elige al académico Francisco O. Mora como embajador ante la OEA". elsiglodedurango.com.mx (in Spanish). July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
3. "Frank O. Mora". Cuban Research Institute. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
4. Mazzei, Patricia (July 29, 2021). "Biden plans to nominate a Cuban American Democrat to be the U.S. ambassador to O.A.S." The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
5. "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. August 2, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
6. "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Francisco O. Mora, of Florida, to be Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the Organization of American States)". United States Senate. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
7. "Dr. Frank Mora". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
8. Organization of American States [@OAS_official] (January 18, 2023). "Words of new U.S. Permanent Representative to the OAS Frank Mora, during today's presentation of credentials ceremony" (Tweet). Retrieved 2023-01-18 – via Twitter.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Carlos Trujillo	United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States 2023–present	Incumbent