Jess L. Baily

Ambassador Jess L. Baily
United States Ambassador to Macedonia
In office February 12, 2015 – March 1, 2019
President	Barack Obama Donald Trump
Preceded by	Paul D. Wohlers
Succeeded by	Kate Marie Byrnes
United States Ambassador to Turkey
In office July 9, 2014 – September 8, 2014
Preceded by	Francis J. Ricciardone, Jr.
Succeeded by	John R. Bass
Personal details
Born	Jess L. Baily 1960 (age 63–64) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Children	1
Education	Yale University (B.A.) Columbia University (M.A.)

Jess Lippencott Baily, alternatively spelled as Lippincott, (born 1960) is an American diplomat.

Biography

Baily was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1960.^[1] He received a Bachelor's of Arts in History and French Literature from Yale University in 1982, and later attained a Master of Arts in European History from Columbia University in 1985.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Baily began working in the Foreign Service in 1985. His early positions saw him working across Africa and Eurasia, including the states of Turkey, Bangladesh, Senegal, and Thailand. From 2005 to 2007, he directed the State Department's foreign press center; from 2007 to 2008, he served in Erbil as the senior representative in Kurdistan; and from 2011 to 2014, he was the deputy chief of mission at the United States' embassy in Ankara.^[3][7] During this last appointment, he would be made acting Chargé d’Affaires to Turkey between July 2014 and September 2014.^[2]

Ashton B. Carter and Jess Baily surveying the damage after the 2013 bombing attack

Eventually Baily would be appointed as the United States' Ambassador to Macedonia on December 23, 2014, a position he would hold until March 1, 2019.^[4][8] In 2017 he would add his voice to other critics of, then president, Gjorge Ivanov for withholding a mandate from opposition leader, Zoran Zaev, over the inclusion of ethnic Albanians in his proposed coalition.^[9] That same year he, alongside the USAID, would come under scrutiny by Judicial Watch for funding the Open Society Foundation in what was described as potential interference in domestic political affairs.^[10][11]

Personal life

Baily is married to a former foreign service officer and has one son.^[2][12]

Baily speaks French, Turkish, and Thai.^[8]

References

1. "LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies (Library of Congress)". id.loc.gov. The Library of Congress. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
2. "Former Chargé d'Affaires and Deputy Chiefs of Mission". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Turkey. Archived from the original on 2019-10-05. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
3. "Baily, Jess L." U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
4. "Jess Baily". The American Academy of Diplomacy. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
5. "Jess Lippincott Baily: Ambassador: Macedonia, United States Department of State". www.bloomberg.com. December 2014. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
6. "Baily, Jess L. - Republic of Macedonia - 2014". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
7. "U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, right, and Jess Baily, left, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, survey damage, Feb. 4, 2013, from a suicide bomber attack at the embassy". www.defense.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
8. "Jess Lippencott Baily - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
9. "US Ambassador: Macedonian President Violating Democratic Principles". www.voanews.com. March 2, 2017. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
10. Takala, Rudy (2017-04-28). "Why is the State Department refusing to disclose Soros' involvement in Macedonia?". The Hill. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
11. "U.S. Gives Soros Groups Millions to Destabilize Macedonia's Conservative Govt". Judicial Watch. 2017-02-28. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
12. Baily, Jess (September 17, 2014). "Statement of Jess Baily Ambassador-Designate to the Republic of Macedonia: Senate Foreign Relations Committee" (PDF). senate.gov. Retrieved June 18, 2021.