Philip T. Reeker, deputy spokesman
of the U.S. Department of State, will speak on “US Foreign Policy: Public Diplomacy and the Role of the Spokesman” in a conversation with students on Monday, May 3, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
in Social Sciences 104.
The event is part of the
Department of Political Science's “Pizza and Politics” series.
Reeker served as spokesman for
both Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary Madeleine Albright. Since
September 2003, Reeker has been “Spokesman at Large” for the Department,
speaking extensively on U.S.
foreign policy and public diplomacy.
As Deputy Assistant Secretary
under Ambassador Richard Boucher in the Bureau of Public Affairs, Reeker
oversaw the Press Office, Media Outreach, and the Foreign
Press centers.
Previously, he was Director of Press Relations within the Bureau of Public
Affairs. In July 2004, he is to take up duty as Deputy Chief of Mission
at the American Embassy in Budapest, Hungary.
Reeker joined the Foreign Service
in March of 1992. His first overseas assignment was as Assistant Information
Officer in Budapest from 1993 to
1996. He moved on to be Public Affairs Officer at the American Embassy in Skopje,
Macedonia, from 1997
through June 1999, and was spokesman for Ambassador Christopher Hill in his
dual role as Ambassador to Macedonia
and U.S. Special Envoy for Kosovo.
Born in Pennsylvania,
Reeker grew up in several U.S.
cities and spent his high school years in Brisbane,
Australia. He received a
B.A. in history from Yale University
and a Master of International Management from the American Graduate School of
International Management known as “Thunderbird” in Arizona.
In 2003, Reeker received the
Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy.