W. Stuart Symington IV is the former United States Ambassador to Nigeria from 2016 to 2019. He also served as Ambassador to Rwanda and Ambassador to Djibouti. He retired in 2019 and returned to serve as the U.S. Special Envoy for South Sudan from 2020 to 2021. He is now a Senior Fellow at the National Defense University’s Joint Forces Staff College and addresses the role of diplomacy in interchanges with military and civilian groups.

Previously, Symington was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central Africa and African Security Affairs, the U.S. Special Representative for the Central African Republic, the U.S. Political Advisor to the Commander NORAD/U.S. Northern Command, Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge’ d’affaires in Niger, a Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and Deputy Director of the Department’s Office of West African Affairs.

Early in his career, Symington served in Ecuador, Mexico, Spain and Honduras and as a Pearson Fellow in the Office of U.S. Congressman Ike Skelton. Before joining the Department of State he practiced law in Missouri, New York, London, and Paris.

Symington received a B.A. from Brown University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. He and his spouse Susan Ide Symington have been married for 45 years and have two children and two grandchildren.