Brian A. Nichols became Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs on September 15, 2021. He leads the Bureau’s 2,700 employees at our 29 Embassies and 23 Consulates General and 14 domestic offices. He is responsible for an operational budget of $560 million and a foreign assistance budget of $2.1 billion. Ambassador Nichols directs all American foreign policy, personnel and programs in the Western Hemisphere. He holds the personal rank of Career Ambassador, the highest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service.

He previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe from 2018 to 2021. In that role, he promoted democracy, rule of law and human rights in Zimbabwe while managing multi-dimensional humanitarian crises brought on by corruption, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Peru from 2014 to 2017. He pioneered strategies against environmental crime and degradation. He supported American trade and investment in Peru, increasing agricultural sales to over $1 billion annually, defending the rights of American investors, and building the Hemisphere’s largest public-private partnership.

Ambassador Nichols was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs from 2011 to 2013. In that capacity, he oversaw the full range of rule of law programs, counter-narcotics, and multilateral issues managed by the bureau. He has also served in Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, and El Salvador during major democratic transitions.

A native of Rhode Island, Ambassador Nichols has earned 28 awards during his diplomatic career, including a Presidential Distinguished Service Award, two Presidential Meritorious Service Awards and the Charles E. Cobb, Jr. Award for Initiative and Success in Trade Development.