Maisto, John F. Permanent Representative, Organization of American States

Ambassador John F. Maisto was nominated by President George W. Bush to be U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States on March 25, 2003. He was sworn in on July 31, 2003. He was named U.S. Coordinator for the Summit of the Americas on July 18, 2003.

Ambassador Maisto served as Special Assistant to President Bush and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs for National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice from January 2001 to April 2003.

Ambassador Maisto was Ambassador to Venezuela from 1997 – 2000, and served as Foreign Policy Advisor at the U.S. Southern Command in 2000-01. He previously served as Ambassador to Nicaragua from 1993-96. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central American Affairs, 1992-93; and Deputy U.S. Representative to the Organization of American States, 1989-92. Earlier, he served in Panama as Deputy Chief of Mission, as Director of the State Department’s Office of Philippine Affairs, and at American Embassies in Manila, San Jose, and La Paz. He was in the U.S. Information Agency in Argentina and Bolivia. He began his career as a Foreign Service Officer in 1968.

A native of Braddock, Pennsylvania, Ambassador Maisto has a B.S. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and an M.A. from the University of San Carlos, Guatemala.

Ambassador John F. Maisto was appointed as Special Assistant to the President and
Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs since January 22, 2002.
Prior to that, Ambassador Maisto was U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela during 1997-2000.
He had been Ambassador to Nicaragua during 1993-1996, and served as Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for Central American Affairs, 1992-93.
Ambassador Maisto began his career with USIA in 1963, when he was assigned to the binational
center in Cordoba, Argentina. After serving as Director of another center, in
Bolivia, he joined the Department of State in 1968. The following year, he became
International Relations Officer in La Paz, followed by an assignment to Washington,
D.C. in the Operations Center, 1971-72.
In the latter year, he became a Special Assistant to the Counselor of the Department.
Next he was Desk Officer for Colombia, 1973-75. He then held two assignments as
Political Officer in San José (1975-78) and Manila (1978-82). In 1982, he became
Deputy Director for the Philippines and then Director of the same office for another two
years. He went to Panama as Deputy Chief of Mission in 1986. He served as Deputy
U.S. Representative to the Organization of American States, 1989-92.
Mr. Maisto received his B.S. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in
1961 and an M.A. from the University of San Carlos, Guatemala en 1962. He speaks
Italian and Spanish.
He is the author of numerous publications, including “Message on International Human
Rights Day”, which was published in several Nicaraguan newspapers last year, and a
chapter in Rebuilding a Nation - - Philippines Challenges and American Policy, 1987.
His honors include Superior and Meritorius honor Awards and Nicaragua’s Pedro
Joaquin Chamorro Award.