Lewis Lukens
Lewis Alan Lukens is a retired American diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. His final assignment was as Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in London.
Lew Lukens | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Deputy Chief of Mission at US Embassy London | |
| In office August 1, 2016 – January 1, 2019 | |
| President | Barack Obama Donald Trump |
| Ambassador | Matthew Barzun Woody Johnson |
| Preceded by | Elizabeth Dibble |
| Succeeded by | Yael Lempert |
| United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom | |
Acting | |
| In office January 18, 2017 – August 21, 2017 | |
| President | Barack Obama Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Matthew Barzun |
| Succeeded by | Woody Johnson |
| United States Ambassador to Senegal | |
| In office October 19, 2011 – June 4, 2014 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Marcia Bernicat |
| Succeeded by | James Zumwalt |
| United States Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau | |
| In office October 19, 2011 – June 4, 2014 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Marcia Bernicat |
| Succeeded by | James Zumwalt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 25, 1963 Paris, France |
| Spouse(s) | Lucy Buxton (1992–2014) Andrea Topper (2015–present) |
| Education | Princeton University (BA, MPP) |
Early life and education
Lukens was born on December 25, 1963 in Paris, France. His father, Alan Wood Lukens, was US Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to the Republic of the Congo.[1]
Lukens attended Princeton University, where he was awarded an AB degree in history. He received a master's degree from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.[2]
Career
Lukens joined the United States Foreign Service in July 1989, serving in Southern China, Ivory Coast, Australia, Ireland, Iraq, Canada, Senegal, and the United Kingdom.[2]
From 2008 to 2011, Lukens was Executive Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Executive Secretariat, directing management support and overseas travel for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.[2] Lukens testified under oath in a legal case related to the Hillary Clinton email controversy.[3]
From 2011 to 2014, Lukens was U.S. Ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau.[2]
From August 2016 to January 2019, Lukens served as the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in London.[4] On June 5, 2017, while serving as Acting Ambassador, Lukens tweeted his support for London mayor Sadiq Khan, after President Donald Trump had sent a tweet critical of Khan following a terrorist incident.[1]
In February 2018, Lukens advised his superior, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Robert Wood Johnson IV, not to follow through on President Trump's request to try to get the British government to steer the British Open golf tournament to the Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland; Lukens warned that it would be an unethical use of the presidency for private gain. However, Johnson reportedly did make the attempt in an overture to the Secretary of State for Scotland.[5]
In a pair of speeches to English universities in October 2018, Lukens used an anecdote about President Barack Obama’s 2013 visit to Senegal to illustrate how allies can handle disagreements. Because of the complimentary reference to Obama, Ambassador Johnson referred to Lukens as a "traitor". Johnson terminated Lukens's tenure as Deputy Chief of Mission in January 2019, seven months before he was scheduled to leave for his next assignment, effectively ending his diplomatic career.[6]
References
- Diplomats quiet revolt against Trump NYTimes, Retrieved June 6, 2017
- "Deputy Chief of Mission Lewis Lukens". U.S. Embassy and Consulates in the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016.
- Hsu, Spencer S. (May 26, 2016). "State Dept. offered 'standalone' PC for Clinton's email". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- "Lewis Lukens". LinkedIn. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- "Trump's Request of an Ambassador: Get the British Open for Me". The New York Times. July 21, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-07-22. Retrieved July 22, 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
- Ioffe, Julia (3 December 2019). "Trump Is Waging War on America's Diplomats". GQ. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
Further reading
- Lukens, Lew (November 14, 2016). "The Future of the Special Relationship". U.S. Embassy and Consulates in the United Kingdom.
- Lukens, Lew (November 13, 2016). "Remembrance Sunday 2016". U.S.Embassy and Consulates in the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on January 28, 2017.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lewis Lukens. |
- Lewis A. Lukens (1963–) Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Marcia Bernicat |
United States Ambassador to Senegal 2011–2014 |
Succeeded by James Zumwalt |
| United States Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau 2011–2014 | ||
| Preceded by Matthew Barzun |
United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Acting 2017 |
Succeeded by Woody Johnson |