Chargé d'Affaires, a.i.

Jay Thomas Smith
Chargé d'Affaires, a.i.

Mr. Jay Smith arrived in Dakar on July 7, 2007.  He is a Senior Foreign Service Officer with extensive experience in bilateral and multilateral affairs over a wide geographical area.

Mr. Smith was commissioned an officer in the Foreign Service in June 1981 after several years of service elsewhere in the Federal Government.  He has served overseas in Malawi, Indonesia, France, the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( Zaire), the Philippines, Jamaica, Romania, and Haiti.  His languages include French, Romanian, and Indonesian.  His domestic assignments include tours as a management analyst in the Bureau of Consular Affairs and labor and human rights advisor in the Bureau of African Affairs.  Mr. Smith's service has been recognized by Superior Honor Awards earned while serving in the former Zaire, Romania, and Haiti.

He is a native of Bloomington, Indiana and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana in 1975.  He graduated from the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1995.

Mr. Smith is married to the former Jacqueline Billy of Saumur, France.  They are the parents of five children, a son and daughter who have accompanied them to Dakar and two other daughters and a son who are pursuing careers in the United States.