US President Joe Biden has nominated Richard Mills Jr. as the US Ambassador to Nigeria.
Mills Jr. will replace Mary Beth Leonard who was appointed the US top diplomat to Nigeria in 2019 by former Pres. Donald Trump.
A statement published on the White House website says Mills is a senior career Foreign Service Officer in the class of Minister-Counselor who currently serves as the US Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Prior to his nomination, he served as the US Ambassador to Armenia. He was also Deputy Chief of Mission and later Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of the United States in Canada.
Mills Jr. has also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, as well as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires ad interim at the US Embassy, Valetta, Malta.
He was also Senior Democracy Advisor at the US Embassy, Baghdad, Political Counselor at the US Embassy, London, and Political Officer at the US Mission to the United Nations.
Prior to joining the foreign service, Mills was an Associate Attorney with the firm of Duncan, Allen and Mitchell in Washington, D.C.
A native of Louisiana, Mills earned a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law and a Master’s in National Security Policy from the National Defense University.
He is the recipient of multiple State Department awards and speaks French and Russian.
