New U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey R. Pyatt takes oath

KYIV, August 1 /Ukrinform/. Ambassador Geoffrey R. Pyatt was sworn in as the new U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine. The ceremony took place at the U. S. Department of State in Washington on Tuesday, July 30, the Voice of America reported.

"The new ambassador plans to take office in Ukraine in the near future," reads the report.

After the Oath of Office ceremony the new ambassador expressed his gratitude to the crowd, including his wife, children and parents.

The U.S. Senate approved Pyatt as the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine on July 9. He replaces John Tefft, who held this position since November 2009.

Geoffrey R. Pyatt is a Senior Foreign Service officer whose 22 year State Department career has focused on Asia and Latin America.

From 1997 to 1999 he was Principal Officer of the American Consulate in Lahore - representing the United States in Pakistan's largest and politically most important province. From 2002-2007 Mr. Pyatt served at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, first as Minister Counselor for Political Affairs and beginning in June 2006 as Deputy Chief of Mission. Prior to his India assignment, he served at the American Consulate General in Hong Kong, managing the trade and export control dialogue with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.

Pyatt became Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the South and Central Asia Affairs Bureau in May 2010. Prior to that, from August 2007, he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency and International Organizations in Vienna.

Also, Pyatt's Washington assignments included Director for Latin America on the National Security Council staff (1996-97), Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State (1995-96) and Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America (1994). He was Political Officer in New Delhi, India from 1992-94 and Economic Officer and Vice-Consul in Tegucigalpa, Honduras from 1990-92.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he worked with The Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank that brings together leading citizens of the Americas.

Mr. Pyatt grew up in La Jolla, California and holds a Master's degree in International Relations from Yale and B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine.

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