Ambassador George M. Staples was a career member of the Foreign Service for 25 years and was Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of the Bureau of Human Resources at the US Department of State. He was also the Political Advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) at NATO in Belgium. From 1998-2001 he served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Rwanda, followed by his service from 2001-2004 as U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Ambassador Staples has also served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Bahrain and Zimbabwe, Senior Watch Officer in the State Department’s Operation Center, and as Senior Turkey Desk Officer in the Bureau of European Affairs during the first Gulf War. His other assignments include: The Bahamas, Uruguay, and El Salvador. He also served as a National Security Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Prior to joining the State Department, Ambassador Staples served as a military officer in the U.S. Air Force, and as a manager in private industry. Ambassador Staples speaks French, Spanish and Turkish.

Ambassador Staples, who holds the rank of Career Minister, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1947. He received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Southern California and an M.A. in Business from Central Michigan University. He and his wife, Jo Ann Fuson Staples, have one daughter, Catherine. They have a permanent home in Pineville, Kentucky.