Mustard
Allan P.
Ambassador (retired) Allan Phillip Mustard, FE-CM, was commissioned into the Foreign Service as an officer of the Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and served as U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan from January 2015 to June 2019. A widely recognized authority on agricultural and food policy, he has broad experience in guiding economic reform assistance throughout Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union as well as collecting market intelligence and negotiating agreements.
Previously, Ambassador Mustard served as Agricultural Minister-Counselor at Embassy New Delhi, India (2011-2014), whence he covered India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka; Embassy Mexico City, Mexico (2008-2011); and Embassy Moscow, Russia, whence he covered Russia, Armenia, Belarus, and Georgia (2003-2008). He was a Fellow in the 45th Senior Seminar in Foreign Relations at the Foreign Service Institute (2002-2003); Assistant Deputy Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Affairs, Foreign Agricultural Service (2000-2002); Agricultural Counselor, Embassy Vienna, Austria, whence he covered Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia (1996-2000); Deputy Director, Emerging Democracies Office, Foreign Agricultural Service (1992-1996); Deputy Coordinator, Eastern Europe and Soviet Secretariat, Foreign Agricultural Service (1990-1992); Agricultural Trade Officer, Consulate General Istanbul, Turkey, whence he covered Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon (1988-1990); Assistant Agricultural Attaché, Embassy Moscow, USSR (1986-1988); and Agricultural Economist, Foreign Agricultural Service (1982-1986). Prior to this, Ambassador Mustard was a Russian-language social worker in Seattle resettling Soviet Jews, and was a Russian-language Guide-Interpreter for the U.S. International Communication Agency on an exhibition in Kishinev, Moscow, and Rostov-na-Donu, USSR.
Mr. Mustard earned an A.S. at Grays Harbor College, Aberdeen, Washington in 1975, B.A.s in Political Science and in Slavic Languages and Literature from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington in 1978, a certificate in Russian from Leningrad State University, Leningrad, USSR, in 1978, and a M.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois in 1982. He is the recipient of five Presidential Rank Awards, a Distinguished Service Honor Award, two Superior Honor Awards, and numerous other Department of State and USDA performance awards. He also received the Grand Golden Medal of Merit of the Republic of Austria, the highest honor Austria can bestow on a foreigner. Mr. Mustard speaks Russian, German and basic Spanish. He is currently President of American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras, and a member of the American College of National Security Leaders as well as National Security Leaders for America.