Tom Shannon

Thomas Alfred Shannon Jr. (born 1958) is an American diplomat who served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2016 to 2018. In early 2017, Shannon served as acting United States Secretary of State until President Donald Trump’s nominee, Rex Tillerson, was confirmed. He was also acting Deputy Secretary of State of the United States until the Senate confirmed President Trump’s nominee, John J. Sullivan.

Since 1984, Shannon has worked in the United States Foreign Service, and he has served in embassies around the world. From 2005 to 2009, he was Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and from 2010 to 2013 he was United States Ambassador to Brazil. From 2013 to 2016, he was Counselor of the United States Department of State, and was also acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in 2011. On February 2, 2016, the Senate confirmed Shannon as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Just under two years later, the Associated Press reported that Shannon would be stepping down from the post pending the naming of a successor.

After retirement, Shannon joined law firm Arnold & Porter as Senior International Policy Advisor.

Shannon is currently the Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, where he is also a Co-Director of the Program in History and the Practice of Diplomacy.

Shannon currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Inter-American Dialogue’s Board of Directors and is on the Board of Directors for the Global Americans think tank.