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rior to his confirmation in July 2014, Mr. Shear served for 32 years in the Foreign Service, most recently as the United States Ambassador to Vietnam. He has also been posted to Sapporo, Beijing, Tokyo, and Kuala Lumpur. In Washington, he has served in the Offices of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean Affairs and as the Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. He was Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs in 2008-2009 and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs in 2009-2011.

 

Mr. Shear was a Rusk Fellow at Georgetown University’s institute for the Study of Diplomacy 1998-99. He is the recipient of the State Department’s Superior Honor Award and the Defense Department’s Civilian Meritorious Service Award for his work in U.S.-Japan defense relations. 

 

Mr. Shear graduated from Earlham College and has a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He also attended Waseda University, Taiwan National University, and Nanjing University.