A 35-year veteran of the United States Foreign Service, Donald L. Heflin served as U.S. Ambassador to Cabo Verde from 2015- 2018 and as Charge d’Affaires in both Mexico and India. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Fletcher School of Law Diplomacy at Tufts University

Heflin joined the State Department in 1987, serving his first assignment as vice consul in Lima, Peru. Further international postings include positions at the U.S. embassies in Lusaka and London and at U.S. consulates in Chennai, Hermosillo, and Nuevo Laredo, where he was Consul General. In Washington, Heflin served as Rwanda/Burundi desk officer, did two tours in Consular Affairs, and was Deputy Director and Acting Director in the Office of West African Affairs.

Raised in Hunstville, Alabama, Heflin earned a B.A. from Birmingham-Southern College in 1980 and a J.D. from the University of Alabama in 1983. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.