John T. Godfrey

Counselor for Arms Control
U.S. Permanent Mission to International Organizations in Vienna

Phone:    43-1-31339-4797
Fax:        43-1-31339-4795

John Godfrey assumed the position of Counselor for Arms Control at the U.S. Permanent Mission to International Organizations in Vienna in August 2010.  In 2009-2010, he served as Deputy Political Counselor for Northern Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, where he led the team covering Arab-Kurd issues.  From 2007 to 2009 he was Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, where he worked to re-establish bilateral ties and was part of the small team that finalized the U.S.-Libya Claims Compensation Agreement that helped turn the page on the Lockerbie bombing and other acts of terrorism.  His other assignments since entering the Foreign Service have been as Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, as Political and Economic Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and as Political Officer in Damascus, Syria, where his tour coincided with the death of former President Hafiz al-Asad and the succession of his son.

Mr. Godfrey earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Los Angeles and an M.A. in Middle East and North Africa Studies from the University of Michigan.  He was a finalist for the State Department's Human Rights and Democracy Advocacy Award for his work in Turkmenistan, and for the Director General's Award for Originality and Impact in Reporting for his analysis of Libya and its relations with the U.S.  He speaks Arabic and Russian.