BIOGRAPHY Edward B. O’Donnell Ambassador, Rank of, during tenure as Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues Term of Appointment: 12/12/2003 to present

On December 12, 2003, the President accorded to Edward B. O’Donnell, Jr. the title of rank of Ambassador during his tenure of service as Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues.

Mr. O’Donnell has been a career Foreign Service Officer since 1975. He currently is the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues. Previously, he was the Director of the State Department Liaison Office to the House of Representatives. His last overseas tour was as Principal Officer and Consul General at Frankfurt, Germany, the largest U.S. Consulate General and one of the largest diplomatic posts with over 800 American and Foreign Service National employees representing 17 U.S. agencies. In that assignment, he was the senior U.S. Government representative dealing with State and local officials in southwestern Germany. He maintained an active public speaking schedule and gave numerous media interviews to explain U.S. policy and to represent U.S. interests.

Over half of Mr. O’Donnell’s career has been dedicated to European economic and political issues. Previous positions include: Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Austria; West German Desk Officer for political, political military and Holocaust issues; East German Desk Officer and Commercial Officer, U.S. Mission Berlin. Previous to entry into the Foreign Service, Mr. O’Donnell served as an officer with the U.S. Army in Germany.

Mr. O’Donnell worked on Holocaust and restitution issues in assignments in Washington, Germany and Austria. He was Executive Assistant to Under Secretary Stuart Eizenstat who negotiated the most recent major Holocaust agreements.

Mr. O’Donnell has held economic/commercial positions in Latin America, policy formulation jobs in Washington, and both economic and political/military assignments in the State Department. He was Charge d’Affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission in Panama during the draw down of 12,000 U.S. military personnel, and transfer of bases as part of the implementation of the Panama Canal Treaties. In Washington he served as Executive Assistant to three Under Secretaries and was a Special Assistant to two Directors of the Policy Planning Staff. He served as Economic/Commercial Officer in Bogota, Colombia and Asuncion, Paraguay.

Edward O’Donnell was on active duty with the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1972 and he was in the active Army Reserve for 26 years with two command assignments as a Colonel. He was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Southern Methodist University in 1968 and a Master of Arts Degree in International Studies from the American University in 1974. He studied economics at Heidelberg University in Germany and speaks fluent German and Spanish.

He is married and has three children and two grandchildren.

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