Ambassador

Ambassador Ross L. Wilson

Ross Wilson 
American Ambassador to Turkey

Ross Wilson was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 28, 2005 to serve as the American Ambassador to Turkey.  He was confirmed by the US Senate in November and presented his credentials in Ankara to Turkish President Sezer on December 8, 2005.

A career officer in the US Foreign Service with the personal rank of Minister-Counselor, Ambassador Wilson has worked since 1979 at the Department of State and at American missions abroad.  Immediately before coming to Turkey, he served as Executive Assistant and Chief of Staff for Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick, providing policy and staff support to the Deputy Secretary on the entire range of issues in American foreign policy.  Between June 2003 and February 2005, Ambassador Wilson was the US Senior Negotiator for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) at the Office of the US Trade Representative, developing, coordinating and implementing US government negotiating positions and strategies in these trade talks.  Before that, he was the American Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2000-2003.

From 1997 to 2000, Ambassador Wilson was Principal Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large and Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union.  He worked for Secretaries of State Baker, Eagleburger and Christopher in 1992-94 as Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department of State.  He was Special Assistant to Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs and Counselor of the Department Zoellick in 1990-92.  Earlier in his career, Ambassador Wilson served in the State Department’s offices dealing with the Soviet Union and Egypt.  He also served overseas as US Consul General in Melbourne, Australia (1995-97), twice at the American Embassy in Moscow (1980-82 and 1987-90), and at the American Embassy in Prague (1985-87).

Born in 1955 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Ambassador Wilson received a Bachelors degree magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota in 1977 and Masters degrees from Columbia University (1979) and the US National War College (1995).  He is the recipient of the President’s Meritorious Service Award (2005), Azerbaijan’s Order of Honor, and numerous State Department awards.  Ambassador Wilson is married to Margo Squire, who is also a career diplomat with the State Department.  They have two sons.

November 2006