Thomas H. Anderson Jr.

{{Infobox person

| name = Thomas H. Anderson Jr.

| image = Ronald Reagan with ambassador Thomas H. Anderson, Jr.jpg

| caption = 1984

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|3|17}}

| birth_place = Gulfport, Mississippi, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = Diplomat

| alma_mater = University of Mississippi (BA)

}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| office = 2nd United States Ambassador to Antigua and Barbuda

| term_start = August 16, 1984

| term_end = March 12, 1986

| predecessor = Milan D. Bish

| successor = Paul A. Russo

}}

Thomas H. Anderson Jr. (born March 17, 1946) is an American diplomat. He was Ambassador of the United States to Barbados, Dominica, St Lucia, Antigua, St. Vincent, and St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla from 1984 to 1986 under U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/10/01/ex-lott-aide-scrambles-to-hold-mississippi-seat-for-gop/a8b4e429-220a-43ff-aca5-de0454be3fdd/|title=EX-LOTT AIDE SCRAMBLES TO HOLD MISSISSIPPI SEAT FOR GOP|last=Parker|first=Laura|date=1989-10-01|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2019-10-28|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite web |date=25 September 1991 |title=The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR THOMAS H. ANDERSON |url=https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Anderson,%20Thomas%20H.toc.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716134453/https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Anderson,%20Thomas%20H.toc.pdf |archive-date=16 July 2024 |access-date=16 July 2024 |website=Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training}}

Biography

Anderson was born in Gulfport, Mississippi.{{Cite web|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/nomination-thomas-h-anderson-jr-be-united-states-ambassador-barbados|title=Nomination of Thomas H. Anderson, Jr., To Be United States Ambassador to Barbados {{!}} The American Presidency Project|website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu|access-date=2019-05-16}} He received a Bachelor of Arts in 1968 from the University of Mississippi at Oxford. He is a member of Epsilon Xi chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity at the University of Mississippi. Anderson served in the Mississippi National Guard before joining Hancock Bank.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/20/us/foreign-service-can-just-about-anyone-be-a-good-ambassador.html|title=Foreign Service; Can Just About Anyone Be a Good Ambassador?|last=Farnsworth|first=Clyde H.|date=1984-04-20|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-10-28|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

He worked as assistant to the vice president of the Hancock Bank in Gulfport from 1969 to 1972. From 1972 to 1984, Anderson was an assistant to U.S. Representative Trent Lott of Mississippi's 5th congressional district, since the 4th district. He was also a member of the Southern Federal Savings and Loan Association in Gulfport.

After his ambassadorships, Anderson ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in a 1989 special election after Republican Congressman Larkin I. Smith died in a plane crash. In the primary, he took a strong second place to Democratic state Senator Gene Taylor and Democratic state Attorney General Mike Moore, but lost in the runoff to Taylor by a two-to-one margin. Afterwards, he was chief of staff to then United States Senator Trent Lott. Anderson is the chairman of the board of Team Washington, Inc.[http://www.americanambassadors.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Members.view&memberid=33 Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917161412/http://americanambassadors.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Members.view&memberid=33 |date=2010-09-17 }}, Council of American Ambassadors website; accessed February 3, 2017.