# Jeffrey Davidow

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American diplomat

Jeffrey Davidow United States Ambassador to Mexico In office August 5, 1998 – September 14, 2002 President Bill Clinton George W. Bush Preceded by James R. Jones Succeeded by Tony Garza United States Ambassador to Zambia In office July 11, 1988 – March 31, 1990 President Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush Preceded by Paul Julian Hare Succeeded by Gordon L. Streeb United States Ambassador to Venezuela In office October 1, 1993 – May 16, 1996 President Bill Clinton Preceded by Michael Martin Skol Succeeded by John F. Keane 26th Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs In office August 7, 1996 – July 6, 1998 Preceded by Alexander Watson Succeeded by Peter F. Romero Personal details Born (1944-01-26) January 26, 1944 (age 82) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Party Democratic

**Jeffrey S. Davidow** (born January 26, 1944) is a career foreign service officer from the [U.S. state](/source/U.S._state) of [Virginia](/source/Virginia). Davidow has served as a member of the [Senior Foreign Service](/source/Senior_Foreign_Service), as well as having been the U.S. Ambassador to [Zambia](/source/Zambia),[1] [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela),[1] and [Mexico](/source/Mexico).[2]

Upon completion of 34 years of service, he retired as the highest ranking U.S. diplomat. Davidow was one of the few people to hold the rank of [Career Ambassador](/source/List_of_United_States_Foreign_Service_Career_Ambassadors).[3][4]

## Early life

Davidow was born in [Boston](/source/Boston), Massachusetts. He received a [B.A.](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) from the [University of Massachusetts](/source/University_of_Massachusetts_Amherst) in 1965 and an [MA](/source/Master_of_Arts) from the [University of Minnesota](/source/University_of_Minnesota) in 1967. He also did postgraduate work in India 1968 on a Fulbright travel grant.

## Career

Davidow joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1969 and began his career as a junior officer at the American Embassy in [Guatemala City](/source/Guatemala_City), [Guatemala](/source/Guatemala), from 1970 to 1972. From 1972 to 1974, he was a U.S. political observer in [Santiago, Chile](/source/Santiago%2C_Chile) (involved in the case of [Charles Horman](/source/Charles_Horman)), and held the same position in [Cape Town](/source/Cape_Town), [South Africa](/source/South_Africa), from 1974 to 1976. He returned to [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.) in 1976 to take a position as a desk officer in the Office of Southern African Affairs,[5] and he went on to be a Congressional fellow from 1978 to 1979.

He later became the head of the liaison office at the U.S. Embassy in [Harare](/source/Harare), [Zimbabwe](/source/Zimbabwe), from 1979 to 1982. He returned shortly thereafter to pursue a fellowship at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University), as well as to take-over as Director of the Office of Southern African Affairs in 1985.

On May 5, 1988, President [Ronald Reagan](/source/Ronald_Reagan) nominated Davidow to be U.S. Ambassador to [Zambia](/source/Zambia), a position he held until 1990.[6]

After his ambassadorship to Zambia, he served as deputy assistant secretary of state.[7]

In 1993, President [Bill Clinton](/source/Bill_Clinton) nominated Davidow to be U.S. Ambassador to [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela). Davidow remained ambassador until 1996.

From 1996 to 1998, he was the State Department's chief policy maker for the Western Hemisphere, serving in the position of [Assistant Secretary of State](/source/Assistant_Secretary_of_State).

Clinton again nominated Davidow in 1998, this time as U.S. Ambassador to [Mexico](/source/Mexico). Davidow held this post from August 5, 1998, until September 14, 2002.[8]

After leaving Mexico in September 2002, he returned to Harvard to become a visiting fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the [David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies](/source/David_Rockefeller_Center_for_Latin_American_Studies). During the 2002–03 academic year, he worked extensively with undergraduate and graduate students and wrote a book on [U.S.–Mexican relations](/source/Mexico%E2%80%93United_States_relations). *The US and Mexico: The Bear and the Porcupine*[9] was first published in Spanish in Mexico by Casa Editorial Grijalbo and in English by Markus Weiner Publishers in April 2004.

Davidow assumed the presidency of the Institute of the Americas on June 1, 2003. The Institute of the Americas, founded in 1983, is an independent, non-profit institution at the [University of California, San Diego](/source/University_of_California%2C_San_Diego). Its mission is to be a catalyst for promoting development and integration as a means to improve the economic, political, and social well-being of the people of the Americas.

In 2004, Davidow was among 27 retired diplomats and military commanders called [Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change](/source/Diplomats_and_Military_Commanders_for_Change) who publicly said the administration of President [George W. Bush](/source/George_W._Bush) did not understand the world and was unable to handle "in either style or substance" the responsibilities of global leadership.[10] On June 16, 2004, the former senior diplomats and military commanders issued a statement against the [Iraq War](/source/Iraq_War).[11]

He has also served as adviser to President [Barack Obama](/source/Barack_Obama) for the [Summit of the Americas](/source/Summit_of_the_Americas).[12] He is also a member of the advisory board for the [Mexico Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mexico_Institute&action=edit&redlink=1).

## Personal life

Davidow and his wife, Joan, reside in [La Jolla, California](/source/La_Jolla%2C_California). The Archives and Special Collections at [Amherst College](/source/Amherst_College) holds some of his papers.

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-clintonnear_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-clintonnear_1-1) ["Clinton Is Near a Selection for Mexico Post"](https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E04EFD61330F934A35752C0A96E958260). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. January 7, 1998. Retrieved December 22, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Bob Deans (January 7, 1998). ["Clinton's pick for Mexican envoy praised"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121024045500/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AASB&p_theme=aasb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EA072271D96B8AA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM). *[Austin American-Statesman](/source/Austin_American-Statesman)*. Archived from [the original](http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AASB&p_theme=aasb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EA072271D96B8AA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM) on October 24, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-StateList1_3-0)** ["Career Ambassadors"](https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/principalofficers/career-ambassador). United States Department of State. Retrieved July 17, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["A Head of State should not solicit hatred and resentment"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090817152841/http://english.eluniversal.com/2009/08/10/en_pol_esp_a-head-of-state-sho_10A2605893.shtml). *[El Universal (Caracas)](/source/El_Universal_(Caracas))*. August 10, 2009. Archived from [the original](http://english.eluniversal.com/2009/08/10/en_pol_esp_a-head-of-state-sho_10A2605893.shtml) on August 17, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["The Association of Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR JEFFREY DAVIDOW"](https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Davidow-Jeffrey.pdf) (PDF). *Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training*. March 3, 2012. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240716184800/https://adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Davidow-Jeffrey.pdf) (PDF) from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Nomination of Jeffrey Davidow To Be United States Ambassador to Zambia"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120928031106/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1988/050588d.htm). Archived from [the original](http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1988/050588d.htm) on September 28, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Unita to leave captured towns"](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/unita-to-leave-captured-towns-1564817.html). *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)*. December 21, 1992. Retrieved December 22, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Changing the guard: U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow heads home. (Spotlight)"](http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-2146928/Changing-the-guard-U-S.html). *Business Mexico*. October 1, 2002. Retrieved December 22, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Starr, Alexandra (August 17, 2004). ["Migrant Headaches"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6683-2004Aug16.html). *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*. Retrieved December 22, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Brownstein, Ronald (June 13, 2004). ["Retired Officials Say Bush Must Go"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jun-13-na-diplo13-story.html). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. Retrieved June 25, 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change Official Statement](http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2004/06/16_diplomats-military-commanders.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20071011042425/http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2004/06/16_diplomats-military-commanders.htm) October 11, 2007, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) (June 16, 2004)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Fidel Castro Meets With 3 U.S. Lawmakers"](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fidel-castro-meets-with-3-us-lawmakers/). *[CBS News](/source/CBS_News)*. April 7, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2010.

## External links

- [Biography portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Biography)
- [Politics portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Politics)

- [Jeffrey Davidow Papers, Amherst College Archives and Special Collections](https://archivesspace.amherst.edu/repositories/2/resources/110)

- [Appearances](https://www.c-span.org/person/?18559) on [C-SPAN](/source/C-SPAN)

Diplomatic posts Preceded by Paul Julian Hare United States Ambassador to Zambia 1988–1990 Succeeded by Gordon L. Streeb Preceded by Michael Martin Skol United States Ambassador to Venezuela October 1, 1993 – May 16, 1996 Succeeded by John Francis Maisto Preceded by James R. Jones United States Ambassador to Mexico 1998–2001 Succeeded by Tony Garza Government offices Preceded by Alexander Watson Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs August 7, 1996 – 1998 Succeeded by Peter F. Romero

v t e United States ambassadors to Mexico Minister Shaler Robinson Wilkinson Poinsett Butler Slacum Ellis Greenhow Ellis Lawrence W. Thompson Beach G. Thompson Shannon Slidell Conner Clifford Letcher Greenhow Goss Slacum Smith Conkling Cooper Ward Gadsden Spofford Forsyth Churchwell Mordecai Green Porter McLane De la Reintrie Weller Corwin Shufelt Campbell Otterbourg Rosecrans Nelson Foster Morgan Jackson Manning Bragg Ryan Gray Ransom Clayton Ambassador Clayton Conger Thompson Wilson Fletcher Warren Sheffield Morrow Clark Daniels Messersmith Thurston O'Dwyer White Hill Mann Freeman McBride Jova Lucey Nava Gavin Pilliod Negroponte Jones Davidow Garza Pascual Wayne Jacobson Landau Salazar Johnson

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jeffrey Davidow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Davidow) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Davidow?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.