Paul D. Taylor


Paul Daniel Taylor was the American Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Dominican Republic from 1988 to 1992.

Early life, family, and education

Born in Lockport, New York, United States, he graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1960. In 1967, he was earned a master's degree in public administration at Harvard University. Taylor is married and has three children.

Foreign Service career

Taylor entered the United States Foreign Service in 1960 and served in diplomatic assignments for two or three years each in Quito, Ecuador, Bangkok, Thailand. Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Madrid, Spain. From 1981 to 1984, he was deputy chief of mission in Guatemala and Chargé d'Affaires in 1984. From 1985 to 1988, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs. On 11 April 1988, President Ronald Reagan nominated him to be the United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. He was appointed to this post on 11 July 1988, presented his credentials on 18 August 1988, and left that post on 9 January 1992. His final posting in the Foreign Service was as State Department Advisor to the President of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island from 1992 to 1994.

Post-Foreign Service career

After retiring from the Foreign Service, Taylor returned to the Naval War College faculty as a researcher. While serving in this role, he edited volumes on maritime strategy that were translated into Spanish and Portuguese, becoming the college's first publication in a foreign language. Following his retirement from full-time work, he continued to teach elective courses at the Naval War College on Latin America, the Caribbean region, and international economics.

Publications