Robert A. Wood
{{Short description|American diplomat}}
{{BLP primary sources|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Robert Wood
| alma_mater = City University of New York (AB)
| spouse = Gita Gouri
| children = 1
| image = Robert A. Wood, U.S. Ambassador.jpg
| office = U.S. Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs in the United Nations
| president = Joe Biden
| term_start = October 6, 2022
| term_end = January 20, 2025
| predecessor = David Pressman
| successor = TBD
| office1 = U.S. Representative to the Conference on Disarmament
| president1 = Barack Obama
Donald Trump
Joe Biden
| term_start1 = August 13, 2014
| term_end1 = October 2021
| predecessor1 = Laura E. Kennedy
| successor1 = Bruce I. Turner
}}
Robert A. Wood is an American diplomat who served as the alternate representative of the United States of America for special political affairs in the United Nations from 2022 to 2025, with the rank of ambassador.
Early life and education
Wood earned a BA in 1985 from the City University of New York.{{citation-attribution|1={{cite web |title=President Biden Announces Key Diplomatic and Agency Nominees |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/15/president-biden-announces-key-diplomatic-and-agency-nominees/ |website=The White House |access-date=24 June 2022 |date=15 December 2021}} }}{{which|reason=Which specific college in the CUNY system?|date=February 2024}}
Career
Wood served as the U.S. ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2014 until 2021. During that time, he also served as the United States commissioner to the Bilateral Consultative Commission of the New START Treaty, and as the United States special representative for Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) issues. He was deputy chief of mission, U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium. He also served as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna, Austria. Wood was the deputy spokesperson and deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Public Affairs in the Department of State, and an information officer at U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Germany. Wood was also deputy director of communications and spokesperson at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York City.
Other assignments include senior advisor in the Office of the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe; special assistant in the office of the under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs; executive assistant in the office of the counselor of the United States Information Agency; public affairs officer in the Bureau of African Affairs; desk officer for Egypt, Yemen, and Sudan; and Near East Regional program officer in the United States Information Agency. Other overseas postings include Islamabad, Pakistan, Lagos, Nigeria, and Mexico City, Mexico.
=Alternate Representative to the UN=
On December 15, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Wood to be the alternate representative of the United States of America for special political affairs in the United Nations, with the rank of ambassador. Hearings on his nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 23, 2022. The committee favorably reported his nomination on July 19, 2022. His nomination was confirmed before the full United States Senate.{{cite web |title=PN1663 - Nomination of Robert A. Wood for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022) |url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/117th-congress/1663 |website=www.congress.gov |access-date=24 June 2022 |date=23 June 2022}}
On December 8, 2023, Wood voted against a UN resolution for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza which acted as a veto against it, stating the resolution "will only plant the seeds for the next war" and "was divorced from reality."{{cite news|last1=Nichols|first1=Michelle|title=US blocks UN Security Council demand for humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-vote-delayed-demand-gaza-humanitarian-ceasefire-2023-12-08/|access-date=10 December 2023|work=Reuters|date=9 December 2023}}
Personal life
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{C-SPAN|1029623}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Robert A.}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)