J. Scott Gration
Since 2009, J. Scott Gration has been the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan. He is a retired major general in the U.S. Air Force, who spent his childhood with his missionary parents in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was a campaign adviser to Hillary Clinton and then campaign national security adviser to Barack Obama.
Sudan
In May 2010, he visited Sudan and Ethiopia. [1] While in Khartoum, he met with United Nations personnel, third-party diplomats, and staff from member countries of the Assessment and Evaluation Commission, a body charged with implementation by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). He continued to meet, in Juba, with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Southern Sudan. In Nyala, regional capital of Darfur, he saw t United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) officials. During his visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he met with African Union personnel.
Organizations he has briefed include the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.[2]
Post-retirement
After retiring and before becoming involved in politics, he was Chief Executive Officer of Millennium Villages. He then became part of the Safe Water Network, which works in India, Bangladesh, and Ghana.
Air Force
During his early years in the Air Force, General Gration served as an F-5 and F-16 instructor pilot, including a two-year assignment with the Kenya Air Force. His staff positions included tours in the Pentagon and NATO, and a White House Fellowship. In 1995, he took command 4404th Operations Group in Saudi Arabia, where he was in command during the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing. In 1996 he was transferred to Turkey to oversee Operation Northern Watch, enforcing a no-fly zone over Iraq.
In 2000 and 2001 General Gration was Deputy Director for Operations in the Joint Staff in Washington and then spent a year and a half as Director of Regional Affairs for the Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs. From January to June 2003, he commanded Joint Task Force-West during Operation Iraqi Freedom. In August 2003 he was appointed Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, and from June 2004 to October 2006, he served as Director, Strategy, Plans, and Policy Directorate of United States European Command. [3]
Education
- Languages: Swahili
- MA, Georgetown University, National Security Studies
- BS, Rutgers University, Mechanical Engineering
Early life
References
- ↑ Office of the Spokesman (4 May 2010), U.S. Special Envoy Gration Traveling to Sudan and Ethiopia, U.S. Department of State
- ↑ ADC Hosts U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, 26 October 2010
- ↑ Biography: Scott Gration, U.S. Department of State