Alumni Profile



photo Ronald K. McMullen
Ronald K. McMullen

U.S. Ambassador to the State of Eritrea

 

Ronald McMullen has been the US Ambassador to Eritrea since November 2007.  A native of Northwood, Iowa, he earned his doctorate in political science from Iowa in 1985.  Ron has over 26 years of diplomatic experience and has lived, worked, or traveled in 87 countries.  In Burma he worked closely with Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and pro-democracy groups. While posted in Fiji he helped prevent civil conflict after an armed takeover of parliament.  He was shot at during a riot in Sri Lanka and helped train mongooses to detect heroin.  He survived a voodoo curse in the Dominican Republic and took Hillary Clinton on a tour of South Africa’s Robben Island with Nelson Mandela.  Between foreign assignments, Ron served for three years as Visiting Professor at the Military Academy at West Point, where he taught International Relations and Comparative Politics.  He has authored many scholarly works and is a three-time recipient of the State Department’s Superior Honor Award.