Richard M. Mills Jr.
Richard Merrill Mills Jr. is an American diplomat who currently serves as U.S. Chargé d'Affaires for Canada. He previously served as United States Ambassador to Armenia from February 2015 until October 2018.
In November 2018, Mills assumed the position of Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of the United States in Ottawa. Following the resignation of Ambassador Kelly Craft in August 2019, he became the acting Ambassador to Canada, with the title of Chargé d'affaires. In January 2020, Mills was nominated to be the next United States Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, again serving under Kelly Craft.Early life and education
Mills was born in Louisiana and grew up in Michigan. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University, Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law, and an Master of Science in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University.Career
Prior to his Foreign Service career, Mills was an Associate Attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Duncan, Allen and Mitchell, as well at the Washington, D.C. office of Wickwire, Gavin and Gibbs.
Mills' first tour as a Foreign Service Officer was at the U.S. embassy in Paris in 1988, where he served as a consular officer and staff assistant to Ambassador Walter Curley. He has had assignments in the Executive Secretariat at the Department of State, Dublin, the United States Mission to the United Nations in New York City, Islamabad, Riyadh, London, Baghdad, and Valletta. He then served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. embassy in Beirut, from 2012 to 2014.
During his career, Mills has also served in the Office of Legislative Affairs, at the U.S. Consulate in Saint Petersburg, and in the now-defunct Bureau of Soviet Union Affairs.
Mills was a Nominee for the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Year Award in 2012 and has received nine Superior Honor Awards from the Department of State. He speaks fluent French and conversational Russian.
In July 2014, Mills was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, a position in which he served until October 2018.
Mills holds the personal rank of Minister-Counselor in the United States Senior Foreign Service.Previous roles in the Foreign Service
- Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France
- Desk Officer in the Bureau of Soviet Union Affairs
- Political Officer at the U.S. Consulate in St. Petersburg, Russia
- Legislative Affairs Officer at the Office of Legislative Affairs
- Line Director in the Executive Secretariat at the Department of State
- Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Dublin, Ireland
- Political Officer at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York
- Deputy Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan
- Energy Attaché and Acting Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in London, England
- Senior Democracy Advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq
- Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Valletta, Malta
- Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon
- Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia
Personal life
Mills is married to Leigh Carter, a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer.
