Ambassador Thomas M. T. Niles served 36 years in the United States Foreign Service, including three key ambassadorial appointments – to Canada, Greece, and the European Union – as well as serving as Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Canada.

Appointed ambassador to Canada in 1985, Ambassador Niles played a key role in negotiations leading to the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement, and he was widely recognized for his efforts to promote American business north of the border. As U.S. envoy to the European Union from 1989 to 1991, he was closely involved in bilateral and multilateral trade issues, as well as the developing political/security relationship between the U.S. and E.U.

As Assistant Secretary for European and Canadian Affairs at the State Department from 1991 to 1993, Ambassador Niles was responsible for some of the first steps in the transformation of the NATO alliance, the opening of more than 15 new U.S. embassies in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and the establishment of diplomatic relations with the newly independent states. His service as Ambassador to Greece from 1993 to 1997 came at a time of considerable tension in the region due to the collapse of Yugoslavia and the difficult relationship between Greece and Turkey.

Earlier in his Foreign Service career, Ambassador Niles served in Belgrade, twice in Moscow and in the U.S. mission to NATO in Brussels, as well as at State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Following his retirement from the Foreign Service, Ambassador Niles served as President and CEO of the United States Council for International Business from 1999 to 2005.

Ambassador Niles holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s degree from the University of Kentucky.