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{{Short description|American diplomat (born 1940)}}
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{{Infobox person

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| honorific_prefix = Ambassador
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{{Infobox officeholder
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| honorific_prefix =
| name = Peter Tomsen
| name = Peter Tomsen
| image =
| image = Peter Tomsen is envoy to Afghan resistance.png
| image_size =
| image_size =
| alt =
| alt =
| ambassador_from = United States
| caption =
| country = Armenia
| term_start = September 6, 1995
| term_end = September 6, 1998
| president = [[Bill Clinton]]
| predecessor = [[Harry J. Gilmore]]
| successor = [[Michael C. Lemmon]]
| caption = Peter Tomsen as envoy to Afghan resistance, circa 1989
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1940|11|19}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1940|11|19}}
| birth_place = [[Cleveland, Ohio]], United States
| birth_place = [[Cleveland, Ohio]], U.S.
| nationality = [[United States]]
| nationality = American
| education =
| education =
| alma_mater = [[Wittenberg University]]<br />[[University of Pittsburgh]]
| alma_mater = [[Wittenberg University]]<br />[[University of Pittsburgh]]
| occupation = [[United States Foreign Service|Foreign Service]]
| occupation = Diplomat
| years_active = 1967–1998
| title =
| title =
| awards =
| awards =
}}
}}

'''Peter Tomsen''' (born November 19, 1940), is a retired [[United States|American]] [[diplomat]] and [[educator]], serving as [[United States]] [[Special Envoy]] to Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992,<ref name=afgh/> and [[United States Ambassador to Armenia]] between 1995 and 1998.<ref name="2008Gutman30">{{cite book|last=Gutman|first=Roy|title=How we missed the story: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and the hijacking of Afghanistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9eqvc-Ru3cC&pg=PA30|accessdate=July 28, 2011|year=2008|publisher=US Institute of Peace Press|isbn=1-60127-024-0|page=30}}</ref><ref name="2004Kleveman246">{{cite book|last=Kleveman|first=Lutz|title=The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3pCz4OmRW-0C&pg=PA246|accessdate=July 28, 2011|year=2004|publisher=Grove Press|isbn=0-8021-4172-2|page=246}}</ref><ref name="2010Final483">{{cite book|others=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks|title=The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TjKODEaahVQC&pg=PA483|accessdate=July 28, 2011|year=2010|publisher=Cosimo, Inc.|pages=483 (note)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Mukarji|first=Apratim|title=Afghanistan, from terror to freedom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4wjVxpHGQkkC&pg=PA59|accessdate=July 28, 2011|year=2003|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=81-207-2542-5|page=59}}</ref> Ambassador Tomsen’s thirty-two year diplomatic career emphasized South and Central Asia, Northeast Asia and the former [[Soviet Union]].
'''Peter Tomsen''' (born November 19, 1940) is an American retired diplomat and educator, serving as U.S. [[Special Envoy]] to Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992,<ref name=afgh/> [[United States Ambassador to Armenia]] between 1995 and 1998,<ref name="2008Gutman30">{{cite book|last=Gutman|first=Roy|title=How we missed the story: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and the hijacking of Afghanistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9eqvc-Ru3cC&pg=PA30|accessdate=July 28, 2011|year=2008|publisher=US Institute of Peace Press|isbn=978-1-60127-024-5|page=30}}</ref><ref name="2004Kleveman246">{{cite book|last=Kleveman|first=Lutz|title=The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3pCz4OmRW-0C&pg=PA246|accessdate=July 28, 2011|year=2004|publisher=Grove Press|isbn=0-8021-4172-2|page=246}}</ref><ref name="2010Final483">{{cite book|others=National Commission on Terrorist Attacks|title=The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TjKODEaahVQC&pg=PA483|accessdate=July 28, 2011|year=2010|publisher=Cosimo, Inc.|pages=483 (note)|isbn=9781616402198 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Mukarji|first=Apratim|title=Afghanistan, from terror to freedom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4wjVxpHGQkkC&pg=PA59|accessdate=July 28, 2011|year=2003|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=81-207-2542-5|page=59}}</ref> and was [[Deputy chief of mission|Deputy Ambassador]] at the [[Embassy of the United States, Beijing|United States Embassy in Beijing]] from 1986 to 1989.<ref name="White House"/> Ambassador Tomsen’s thirty-two year diplomatic career emphasized [[South Asia|South]] and [[Central Asia]], [[Northeast Asia]] and the former [[Soviet Union]].


==Early life==
==Early life==
Although born in [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], Peter Tomsen graduated from [[Sycamore High School (Cincinnati, Ohio)|Sycamore High School]] in [[Cincinnati, Ohio]] and attended college at [[Wittenberg University]] in [[Springfield, Ohio]], receiving a degree in political science in 1962. Tomsen was awarded a Heinz fellowship for post-graduate studies at the [[University of Pittsburgh]]. Receiving his master's degree in public and international affairs, Tomsen spent two years working in the [[Peace Corps]] in [[Nepal]].<ref name="2005CAS">{{cite web |url=http://world.unomaha.edu/cas/staffs/bibilo/AmbassadorTomsenBio.pdf |title=Peter Tomsen, Ambassador in Residence |year=2005 |publisher=Center for Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha |format=PDF |accessdate=July 28, 2011}}</ref> Tomsen studied [[Nepali language|Nepali]] and taught [[civics]] and [[English language|English]] in a newly founded 80-student college in a [[Himalayas|Himalayan]] town in western Nepal. Tomsen chose to extend his Peace Corps service for six months to be headmaster of a [[Tibet]]an refugee school.
Tomsen was born in [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]] on November 19, 1940.<ref name="Newsletter324">{{Cite journal |title=Peter Tomsen is envoy to Afghan resistance |journal=Department of State News Letter |issue=324 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=July 1989 |page=11 <!-- full image https://web.archive.org/web/20220112005255/https://books.google.com.tw/books?id=xYNNAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA7-PA10-IA1&lpg=RA7-PA10-IA1&dq=Peter+Tomsen+1985+1989+Beijing&source=bl&ots=B-oUKpAY4x&sig=ACfU3U2ObLGF_-OkDICzGHjuZ8lD_vfyrA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwilyLqa8an1AhUDfd4KHXf9AKoQ6AF6BAgLEAM#v=onepage&q=Peter%20Tomsen%201985%201989%20Beijing&f=false -->}}</ref> He graduated from [[Sycamore High School (Cincinnati, Ohio)|Sycamore High School]] in [[Cincinnati, Ohio]], and attended college at [[Wittenberg University]] in [[Springfield, Ohio]], receiving a degree in political science in 1962. Tomsen was awarded a Heinz fellowship for post-graduate studies at the [[University of Pittsburgh]]. Receiving his master's degree in public and international affairs, Tomsen spent two years working in the [[Peace Corps]] in [[Nepal]].<ref name="2005CAS">{{cite web |url=http://world.unomaha.edu/cas/staffs/bibilo/AmbassadorTomsenBio.pdf |title=Peter Tomsen, Ambassador in Residence |year=2005 |publisher=Center for Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha |accessdate=July 28, 2011}}</ref> Tomsen studied [[Nepali language|Nepali]] and taught [[civics]] and [[English language|English]] in a newly founded 80-student college in a [[Himalayas|Himalayan]] town in western Nepal. Tomsen chose to extend his Peace Corps service for six months to be headmaster of a [[Tibet]]an refugee school.


==Diplomatic and political career==
==Diplomatic and political career==
Ambassador Tomsen entered the Foreign Service in 1967. He served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 1993 - 1995, and was United States ambassador to [[Armenia]] from 1995 to 1998.<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4143 ''"U.S.-Armenian Relations 1991-2006: A Conversation with Our First Five Ambassadors"''] US Library of Congress Video archive of 13th annual Vardanants Day lecture program</ref> He was deputy chief of mission of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, spanning from 1985 to 1989. He served in the political-military office of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, 1967 - 1968. After a year of Vietnamese language training in Washington in early 1969, he was assigned to the U.S. Civilian-Military Advisory Organization in Vietnam, 1969 - 1970. He was a political officer of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, 1971 - 1975; a political officer of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, 1977 - 1978; and a political officer of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, 1981 - 1983. From 1984 to 1987, he served in the Department of State as office director of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=17111|title = Accordance of the Personal Rank of Ambassador to Peter Tomsen While Serving as Special Envoy to the Afghan Resistance|date = June 5, 1989|accessdate = |website = |publisher = White House|last = Bush|first = George}}</ref>
Ambassador Tomsen entered the Foreign Service in 1967. He served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 1993 - 1995, and was United States ambassador to [[Armenia]] from 1995 to 1998.<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4143 ''"U.S.-Armenian Relations 1991-2006: A Conversation with Our First Five Ambassadors"''] US Library of Congress Video archive of 13th annual Vardanants Day lecture program</ref> He was deputy chief of mission of the [[U.S. Embassy in Beijing]], spanning from 1986 to 1989. He served in the political-military office of the [[Embassy of the United States, Bangkok|U.S. Embassy in Bangkok]], 1967 - 1968. After a year of Vietnamese language training in Washington in early 1969, he was assigned to the U.S. Civilian-Military Advisory Organization in [[South Vietnam]], 1969 - 1970. He was a political officer of the [[Embassy of the United States, New Delhi|U.S. Embassy in New Delhi]], 1971 - 1975; a political officer of the [[Embassy of the United States, Moscow|U.S. Embassy in Moscow]], 1977 - 1978; and a political officer of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, 1981 - 1983. From 1984 to 1987, he served in the Department of State as office director of [[India]], [[Nepal]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Bhutan]], and the [[Maldives]].<ref name="White House">{{Cite web|url = http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=17111|title = Accordance of the Personal Rank of Ambassador to Peter Tomsen While Serving as Special Envoy to the Afghan Resistance|date = June 5, 1989|accessdate = |website = |publisher = [[White House]]|last = Bush|first = George |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20220111142020/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/accordance-the-personal-rank-ambassador-peter-tomsen-while-serving-special-envoy-the |archivedate=January 11, 2022}}</ref>
<br>1989-1992: US Special Envoy to [[Afghanistan]].{{Better source|date=January 2018}}<ref name=afgh>{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/12/12/ret.tomsen.cnna/index.html|first=Peter|last=Tomsen|title=Stabilizing post-Taliban Afghanistan|date=December 12, 2001}}</ref>
<br>1989-1992: US Special Envoy to [[Afghanistan]].{{Better source needed|date=January 2018}}<ref name=afgh>{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/12/12/ret.tomsen.cnna/index.html|first=Peter|last=Tomsen|title=Stabilizing post-Taliban Afghanistan|date=December 12, 2001}}</ref>


==Selected works==
==Selected works==
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*[https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/tomsen-peter History.state.gov]
*[https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/tomsen-peter History.state.gov]
*[http://www.thenation.com/section/Peter-Tomsen Thenation.com]
*[http://www.thenation.com/section/Peter-Tomsen Thenation.com]
*{{C-SPAN|Peter Tomsen}}
*{{C-SPAN|1000567}}


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomsen, Peter}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomsen, Peter}}
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[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Armenia]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Armenia]]
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[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:United States Foreign Service personnel]]
[[Category:United States Foreign Service personnel]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Nepal]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Nepal]]
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[[Category:American expatriates in Thailand]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Thailand]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Vietnam]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Vietnam]]
[[Category:American expatriates in India]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:American expatriates in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:20th-century American diplomats]]

Latest revision as of 03:16, 14 January 2024

Peter Tomsen
Peter Tomsen as envoy to Afghan resistance, circa 1989
United States Ambassador to Armenia
In office
September 6, 1995 – September 6, 1998
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byHarry J. Gilmore
Succeeded byMichael C. Lemmon
Personal details
Born (1940-11-19) November 19, 1940 (age 83)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Alma materWittenberg University
University of Pittsburgh
OccupationDiplomat

Peter Tomsen (born November 19, 1940) is an American retired diplomat and educator, serving as U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992,[1] United States Ambassador to Armenia between 1995 and 1998,[2][3][4][5] and was Deputy Ambassador at the United States Embassy in Beijing from 1986 to 1989.[6] Ambassador Tomsen’s thirty-two year diplomatic career emphasized South and Central Asia, Northeast Asia and the former Soviet Union.

Early life[edit]

Tomsen was born in Cleveland, Ohio on November 19, 1940.[7] He graduated from Sycamore High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, and attended college at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, receiving a degree in political science in 1962. Tomsen was awarded a Heinz fellowship for post-graduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Receiving his master's degree in public and international affairs, Tomsen spent two years working in the Peace Corps in Nepal.[8] Tomsen studied Nepali and taught civics and English in a newly founded 80-student college in a Himalayan town in western Nepal. Tomsen chose to extend his Peace Corps service for six months to be headmaster of a Tibetan refugee school.

Diplomatic and political career[edit]

Ambassador Tomsen entered the Foreign Service in 1967. He served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 1993 - 1995, and was United States ambassador to Armenia from 1995 to 1998.[9] He was deputy chief of mission of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, spanning from 1986 to 1989. He served in the political-military office of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, 1967 - 1968. After a year of Vietnamese language training in Washington in early 1969, he was assigned to the U.S. Civilian-Military Advisory Organization in South Vietnam, 1969 - 1970. He was a political officer of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, 1971 - 1975; a political officer of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, 1977 - 1978; and a political officer of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, 1981 - 1983. From 1984 to 1987, he served in the Department of State as office director of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives.[6]
1989-1992: US Special Envoy to Afghanistan.[better source needed][1]

Selected works[edit]

  • Tomsen, Peter (July 12, 2011). The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-763-8.[10][11]
  • Tomsen, Peter (December 2000 – February 2001). "Geopolitics of an Afghan Settlement". Perceptions, Journal of International Affairs. 5 (4). Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Tomsen, Peter (December 12, 2001). "Stabilizing post-Taliban Afghanistan".
  2. ^ Gutman, Roy (2008). How we missed the story: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and the hijacking of Afghanistan. US Institute of Peace Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-60127-024-5. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  3. ^ Kleveman, Lutz (2004). The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia. Grove Press. p. 246. ISBN 0-8021-4172-2. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  4. ^ The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks. Cosimo, Inc. 2010. pp. 483 (note). ISBN 9781616402198. Retrieved July 28, 2011.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^ Mukarji, Apratim (2003). Afghanistan, from terror to freedom. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 59. ISBN 81-207-2542-5. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  6. ^ a b Bush, George (June 5, 1989). "Accordance of the Personal Rank of Ambassador to Peter Tomsen While Serving as Special Envoy to the Afghan Resistance". White House. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "Peter Tomsen is envoy to Afghan resistance". Department of State News Letter (324). U.S. Department of State: 11. July 1989.
  8. ^ "Peter Tomsen, Ambassador in Residence" (PDF). Center for Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha. 2005. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  9. ^ "U.S.-Armenian Relations 1991-2006: A Conversation with Our First Five Ambassadors" US Library of Congress Video archive of 13th annual Vardanants Day lecture program
  10. ^ "The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers". Kirkus Reviews. May 15, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  11. ^ Silverman, Jerry Mark. "The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and The Failures of Great Powers". New York Journal of Books. Retrieved July 28, 2011.

External links[edit]

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Armenia
1995–1998 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Tomsen&oldid=1195503077"