Stephen G. McFarland
Encyclopedia
Stephen George McFarland (born December 21, 1955, Tarrant County, Texas
) is an American
career diplomat
and United States Ambassador to Guatemala
(since June 2008).
and the Middle East
, as well as in central Texas
and suburban Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt American School in Lima, Peru, Yale University
, and the U.S. Air War College
. He also attended the Marine Corps
Platoon Leaders Course.
Ambassador McFarland speaks fluent Spanish and some Guarani
, and he is currently studying K'iche'
, the second most widely spoken language in Guatemala after Spanish
.
in 1977, and was subsequently posted to Maracaibo, Venezuela. He has served in a series of assignments in Latin America focusing on U.S. support for democratic transitions, human rights
, and security.
He has held positions including political officer in Ecuador
and Peru
, desk officer for Nicaragua
, and political counselor in El Salvador
, Bolivia
, and Peru. He was the U.S. member of the interim cease-fire monitoring group on the Peru-Ecuador border in 1995, following the Cenepa War
. He later served as the Deputy Chief of Mission
and the Chargé d'Affaires
in both Paraguay
and Guatemala, as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Venezuela
, and as the Director of Cuba
n Affairs in the Department of State.
Previously, he served as director of Stability Operations Training in the Foreign Service Institute
of the United States Department of State
. In 2007, he led a civilian-military Provincial Reconstruction Team embedded with Marine Corps
Regimental Combat Team 2 in western Iraq
.
and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
. On April 22, 2008 with then Senator Joseph Biden presiding before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, his nomination confirmation was moved en bloc by Senator Biden, seconded by Senator John Kerry
and approved unanimously by voice vote.
McFarland was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Guatemala on June 30, 2008 by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte
in Washington, D.C.
. He arrived as ambassador in Guatemala on August 5, 2008 with his wife Karin and four sons, Chris, Alex, Andrew, and Kevin.
Shortly after his arrival in Guatemala, he spoke about an espionage scandal. Guatemala's president Álvaro Colom
announced that his office and home were bugged with cameras and listening devices. Ambassador McFarland described the situation as a "failure" of the Secretariat of Administrative Affairs and Security (SAAS).
During the nationwide violence of March 2009, the wife of Sergio Morales, Guatemala's Attorney General for Human Rights was kidnapped and tortured. Ambassador McFarland offered the full support of the US to investigate the crime.
Tarrant County, Texas
Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, it had a population of 1,809,034. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County is the sixteenth most populous county in the United States and the third most populous in Texas. The county is named in honor...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
career diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and United States Ambassador to Guatemala
United States Ambassador to Guatemala
The following is a list of Ambassadors of the United States, or other chiefs of mission, to Guatemala. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.-See also:...
(since June 2008).
Background
The son of a diplomat, George A. McFarland Jr., Ambassador McFarland grew up in Latin AmericaLatin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, as well as in central Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and suburban Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt American School in Lima, Peru, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, and the U.S. Air War College
Air War College
The Air War College is a part of the United States Air Force's Air University, headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Air University's higher headquarters is Air Education and Training Command headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. The Air War...
. He also attended the Marine Corps
Marine corps
A marine is a member of a force that specializes in expeditionary operations such as amphibious assault and occupation. The marines traditionally have strong links with the country's navy...
Platoon Leaders Course.
Ambassador McFarland speaks fluent Spanish and some Guarani
Guaraní language
Guaraní, specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guaraní , is an indigenous language of South America that belongs to the Tupí–Guaraní subfamily of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of Paraguay , where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and half of...
, and he is currently studying K'iche'
K'iche' language
The K’iche’ language is a part of the Mayan language family. It is spoken by many K'iche' people in the central highlands of Guatemala. With close to a million speakers , it is the second-most widely spoken language in the country after Spanish...
, the second most widely spoken language in Guatemala after Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
Diplomatic career
He joined the Foreign ServiceUnited States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
in 1977, and was subsequently posted to Maracaibo, Venezuela. He has served in a series of assignments in Latin America focusing on U.S. support for democratic transitions, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, and security.
He has held positions including political officer in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, desk officer for Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, and political counselor in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, and Peru. He was the U.S. member of the interim cease-fire monitoring group on the Peru-Ecuador border in 1995, following the Cenepa War
Cenepa War
The Cenepa War , also known as the Alto Cenepa War, was a brief and localized military conflict between Ecuador and Peru, fought over control of a disputed area on the border between the two countries...
. He later served as the Deputy Chief of Mission
Deputy Chief of Mission
A Deputy Chief of Mission , is the number-two diplomat assigned to an embassy or other diplomatic mission. He or she is usually considered the second-in-command or top lieutenant to the Head of Mission...
and the Chargé d'Affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
in both Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
and Guatemala, as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, and as the Director of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n Affairs in the Department of State.
Previously, he served as director of Stability Operations Training in the Foreign Service Institute
Foreign Service Institute
The Foreign Service Institute is the United States Federal Government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats and other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests overseas and in Washington...
of the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
. In 2007, he led a civilian-military Provincial Reconstruction Team embedded with Marine Corps
Marine corps
A marine is a member of a force that specializes in expeditionary operations such as amphibious assault and occupation. The marines traditionally have strong links with the country's navy...
Regimental Combat Team 2 in western Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
Ambassador to Guatemala
He was nominated to the position of Ambassador by President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
. On April 22, 2008 with then Senator Joseph Biden presiding before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, his nomination confirmation was moved en bloc by Senator Biden, seconded by Senator John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
and approved unanimously by voice vote.
McFarland was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Guatemala on June 30, 2008 by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte
John Negroponte
John Dimitri Negroponte is an American diplomat. He is currently a research fellow and lecturer in international affairs at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. He arrived as ambassador in Guatemala on August 5, 2008 with his wife Karin and four sons, Chris, Alex, Andrew, and Kevin.
Shortly after his arrival in Guatemala, he spoke about an espionage scandal. Guatemala's president Álvaro Colom
Álvaro Colom
Álvaro Colom Caballeros is the President of Guatemala for the 2008–2012 term and leader of the social-democratic National Unity of Hope .-Early years:...
announced that his office and home were bugged with cameras and listening devices. Ambassador McFarland described the situation as a "failure" of the Secretariat of Administrative Affairs and Security (SAAS).
During the nationwide violence of March 2009, the wife of Sergio Morales, Guatemala's Attorney General for Human Rights was kidnapped and tortured. Ambassador McFarland offered the full support of the US to investigate the crime.