Tuesday, July 17th, 2012
WISH Classroom on Capitol Hill (call WISH office for location)
Time: 6:30pm
Ambassador Patrick N. Theros (Ret.)
Diplomacy in the Middle East
Ambassador Patrick N. Theros (Ret.)
President and Executive Director, US-Qatar Business Council
Ambassador Theros was born in 1941 in Ann Arbor, Michigan and attended public schools in Michigan, Ohio and the District of Columbia. He graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 1963 and has done advanced studies at the American University in Washington, DC, the Universidad Centroamericana in Managua, Nicaragua, the Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Virginia and the National Defense University in Washington D.C..
In March 2000 Ambassador Patrick Nickolas Theros assumed the office of the President and Executive Director of the U.S.-Qatar Business Council after a 36-year career in the United States Foreign Service. Ambassador Theros joined the Foreign Service in 1963 and served in a variety of positions including Political Advisor to the Commander in Chief Central Command; Deputy Chief of Mission and Political officer in Amman; Charge d’affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission in Abu Dhabi; Economic and Commercial Counselor in Damascus.
During these periods, he earned four Superior Honor Awards. In 1990, he was accorded the personal rank of Minister Counselor. In 1992 he received both the President’s Meritorious Service Award for career officials and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem honored Ambassador Theros with the honor of Knight Commander Order of the Holy Sepulcher. In 1999 His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifah Al-Thani awarded Ambassador Theros Qatar’s Order of Merit.
Immediately before his appointment to Qatar in 1995, Ambassador Theros served as Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism, responsible for the coordination of all U.S. Government counterterrorism activities outside the United States. He speaks Spanish, Arabic and Greek fluently.
In addition to his duties as President and Executive Director of the US Qatar Business Council, Ambassador Theros has the following affiliations:
- Member of the Board of Directors, Qatar Foundation International, (elected 2007)
- Member of the Board of Director, Middle East Policy Council (elected 2010)
- Council of Foreign Relations, Member
- Representative to USA of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem
- Arab American Bankers Association of America, Member
- Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs, Member
- American Academy of Diplomacy, Member