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Geoffrey R. Pyatt

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Geoffrey Pyatt
2nd Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources
Assumed office
September 19, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byFrancis R. Fannon
United States Ambassador to Greece
In office
October 24, 2016 – May 10, 2022
President
Preceded byDavid Pearce
Succeeded byGeorge J. Tsunis
United States Ambassador to Ukraine
In office
July 30, 2013 – August 18, 2016
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJohn Tefft
Succeeded byMarie Yovanovitch
Personal details
Born
Geoffrey Ross Pyatt

(1963-11-16) November 16, 1963 (age 60)
San Diego, California, U.S.
SpouseMary
Children2
RelativesBud Pyatt (father)
Mary Mackenzie (mother)
EducationUniversity of California, Irvine (BA)
Yale University (MA)

Geoffrey Ross Pyatt (born November 16, 1963)[1] is a United States diplomat serving as Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources. He was previously United States Ambassador to Greece and Ukraine. Pyatt's career in the U.S. State Department has led to posts in Asia, Europe, and Central America.

Early life and education

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Pyatt was born in La Jolla, a suburb of San Diego, California,[1] the son of Kedar “Bud” Pyatt, and Mary Mackenzie.[2] He received a bachelor's degree in political studies in 1985 at the University of California, Irvine, and a master's degree in international relations at Yale University in 1987.[1][3]

Career

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Pyatt started his diplomatic career in Honduras from 1990 until 1992 as vice-consul and economic officer in Tegucigalpa. He was deputy chief of diplomatic mission in India in 2006 and 2007. After that he worked as deputy chief of U.S. mission to International Atomic Energy Agency and other international organizations in Vienna. Pyatt served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs from May 2010 until July 2013.[4]

Pyatt took the Oath of Office of United States Ambassador to Ukraine on July 30, 2013 in the Harry S Truman Building of the US State Department in Washington, D.C. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych accepted Pyatt's credentials on August 15, 2013.[4] After his appointment, Pyatt started actively studying the Ukrainian language. On October 15, 2013 Pyatt attended an international conference on fighting anti-Semitism in Kyiv, but could not address the audience at the event due to the United States federal government shutdown of 2013.[5]

Assistant Secretary Victoria Nuland and Geoffrey Pyatt greet Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko before he met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Warsaw, Poland, on June 4, 2014

During the 2014 Ukrainian revolution against Ukraine's President Victor Yanukovych Pyatt became part of a diplomatic scandal in January 2014, when his conversation with the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State, Victoria Nuland, was apparently intercepted and uploaded to YouTube. The conversation included Nuland saying "Fuck the EU", which were harshly criticized by the President of the European Council Herman van Rompuy and by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.[6][7][8] The call followed an offer made on January 25, 2014 by Ukrainian president Yanukovych to include two members of the opposition in his government to calm the Maidan protests in Ukraine, one being that of his Prime Minister. [9] Nuland and Pyatt voiced their opinions of this offer, specifically on the post of Prime Minister, giving their opinion on the suitability and role of several opposition personalities. Of Vitali Klitschko, Pyatt said "let him stay out and do his political homework and stuff I'm just thinking in terms of sort of the process moving ahead we want to keep the moderate democrats together". He also proposed "some kind of outreach to Yanukovych" and Nuland mentioned that then-Vice President Joe Biden would be helpful in that regard. He further said "we want to try to get somebody with an international personality to come out here and help to midwife this thing" (a reference to Nuland's earlier suggestion of Robert Serry of the UN).[10] This led to speculation in Russia and in the United States that the U.S. Government was interfering with Ukraine's sovereignty.[11][12][13]

After President Yanukovych's dismissal by the Ukrainian Parliament [14] Pyatt characterised pro-Russian separatist rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk as "terrorists".[15]

On September 25, 2015, during his speech at Odesa Financial Forum, Pyatt criticized Ukrainian Prosecutor's office.[citation needed]

On May 19, 2016, he was nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama to serve as United States Ambassador to Greece. He was replaced by Marie L. Yovanovitch in Ukraine.[16] He was confirmed as the Ambassador to Greece on July 14, 2016. He was sworn in September 2016. He presented his credentials on October 24, 2016. He served in the post for 5 years until his resignation in 2022.[citation needed]

On April 22, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Pyatt to the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources.[17] The Senate confirmed his nomination on September 15, 2022, and he was sworn in on September 19.[18]

Personal life

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Pyatt speaks Spanish.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Welcome, Mr. Pyatt!", Den, 5 August 2013.
  2. ^ Papadopoulos, Pavlos. "Geoffrey Pyatt: 'For me, coming to Greece was like coming home'". Kathimerini. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  3. ^ Biography, U.S. State Department
  4. ^ a b "Yanukovych accepts credentials from new US ambassador, discusses with him Ukrainian-US relations", Interfax-Ukraine (15 August 2013)
  5. ^ "Ambassador Pyatt decides not to speak at public events in Kyiv due to US government shutdown", Interfax-Ukraine, 15 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Leaked phone call embarrasses US". BBC News. February 6, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  7. ^ Re Post (February 4, 2014). "Марионетки Майдана" [Puppets (in the) Public Square]. YouTube. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  8. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Transcript of leaked Nuland-Pyatt call". BBC News. February 7, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  9. ^ Walker, Shaun; Grytsenko, Oksana (2014-01-25). "Ukrainian president offers surprise concessions as protests turn violent". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  10. ^ Murphy, Dan (Feb 6, 2014). "Amid US-Russia tussle over Ukraine, a leaked tape of Victoria Nuland". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved Dec 26, 2022.
  11. ^ "Top U.S. diplomat Victoria Nuland, Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt caught out in private chat leaked online". CBS News. Feb 7, 2014. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved Dec 26, 2022.
  12. ^ Gearan, Anne (Feb 6, 2014). "In recording of U.S. diplomat, blunt talk on Ukraine". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved Dec 26, 2022.
  13. ^ Carpenter, Ted (Aug 6, 2017). "America's Ukraine Hypocrisy". Cato Institute. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved Dec 26, 2022.
  14. ^ "Ukraine’s parliament votes to oust president; former prime minister is freed from prison". The Washington Post. February 22, 2014.
  15. ^ Voice of America, Q&A with US Amb. Geoffrey Pyatt: Ukraine Crisis Escalates as War Fears Grow, 14 April 2014.
  16. ^ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts" (Press release). White House Press Office. May 19, 2016.
  17. ^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". April 22, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  18. ^ "Geoffrey R. Pyatt". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
  19. ^ "Pyatt Geoffrey - Greece - May 2016". US Department of State.
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Media related to Geoffrey R. Pyatt at Wikimedia Commons

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Ukraine
2013–2016 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Greece
2016–2022 		Succeeded by
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