Ryszard Schnepf


Ryszard Marian Schnepf is a Polish politician and diplomat.

Early life

Schnepf was born in Warsaw, Poland on 22 September 1951, to Polish mother, Alicja Szczepaniak-Schnepft, recognised as Righteous among the Nations and Jewish father, colonel Maksymilian Schnepft, who until 1968 was head of the communist military office at the University of Warsaw.
Ryszard Schnepf graduated from history at the University of Warsaw. He defended doctoral thesis there.

Career

Since 1978 he has been working as a lecturer at the University of Warsaw. In the early 1990s Schnepf joined the diplomatic service. Between 1991 and 1996 he served as Ambassador to Uruguay and Paraguay and between 2001 and 2005 to Costa Rica. From 2007 to late 2008 he served as the under-secretary of state of Poland, as part of the Foreign Ministry. From 2008 to 2012 he was ambassador to Spain.
On 14 January 2013, Ryszard Schnepf presented his credentials to U.S. President Barack Obama in a formal ceremony at the Oval Office, marking his official recognition as Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the United States. He served as Poland's Ambassador until July 31, 2016. He was succeeded as Ambassador by Piotr Wilczek.

Honours