Jackson McDonald

He began his career in the U.S. Foreign Service in 1980 as third secretary and vice consul at the American embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In 1984, he volunteered for duty at the American embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, where he served as second secretary for political affairs for two years.

After a year of Russian-language training, McDonald served as first secretary for political affairs at the American embassy in Moscow, the Soviet Union, from 1990 to 1991.

In early 1992, he volunteered to open the American embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where he served first as chargé d'affaires then as deputy chief of mission until 1994.

After graduating from the U.S. Department of State's Senior Seminar in 1998, he was assigned as deputy chief of mission at the American embassy in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.