CHRISTOPHER R. HILL
U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea

Ambassador Christopher R. Hill was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea on July 23, 2004, and arrived in the Republic of Korea on August 12, 2004.

Immediately preceding his appointment to the Republic of Korea, Ambassador Hill was the Ambassador to Poland. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador to Poland, he was the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Southeast European Affairs for the National Security Council. His previous assignment was as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia and Special Envoy for Kosovo. Before this assignment, Ambassador Hill served as the Director for the Office of South Central European Affairs during which time he was also a member of Ambassador Holbrooke's Bosnia negotiating team.

Earlier in his Foreign Service career, Ambassador Hill served in Belgrade, Warsaw, Seoul, Tirana and on the Department of State's Policy Planning staff. As a staff member for Congressman Stephen Solarz, he advised the Congressman on Eastern Europe. Previously, he was the Department of State's Senior Country Officer for Poland.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Ambassador Hill served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon. He is a recipient of several State Department awards including the Department's Distinguished Service Award for his work on the Bosnia peace settlement and the Robert S. Frasure Award for Peace Negotiations stemming from his work on Kosovo. Ambassador Hill speaks Polish, Serbo-Croatian, and some Macedonian and Albanian.

Ambassador Hill graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine with a B.A. in Economics. He received a Master's degree from the Naval War College in 1994. Ambassador Hill is married to the former Patricia Whitelaw and has three children, Nathaniel, Amy, and Clara.