Robert O. Blake Jr. Explained

Office:United States Ambassador to Indonesia
President:Barack Obama
Term Start:January 30, 2014
Term End:July 19, 2016
Predecessor:Scot Marciel
Successor:Joseph R. Donovan Jr.
Office1:5th Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs
President1:Barack Obama
Term Start1:May 26, 2009
Term End1:October 18, 2013
Predecessor1:Richard Boucher
Successor1:Nisha Biswal
Office2:United States Ambassador to the Maldives
President2:George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Term Start2:October 30, 2006
Term End2:May 21, 2009
Predecessor2:Jeffrey Lunstead
Successor2:Patricia Butenis
Office3:United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka
President3:George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Term Start3:September 9, 2006
Term End3:May 21, 2009
Predecessor3:Jeffrey Lunstead
Successor3:Patricia Butenis
Birth Name:Robert Orris Blake Jr.
Alma Mater:Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
Parents:Robert O. Blake
Sylvia Whitehouse Blake
Relatives:Sheldon Whitehouse (cousin)
Charles S. Whitehouse (uncle)
Sheldon Whitehouse (diplomat) (grandfather)

Robert Orris Blake Jr. (born 1957) is an American career diplomat who served as Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from 2006 to 2009, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs from 2009 to 2013 and Ambassador to Indonesia from 2014 to 2016.

Blake is a Senior Director at McLarty Associates where he leads the firm's India and South Asia practice and advises clients in Indonesia for the Southeast Asia and Pacific practice.[1] He is also co-chair of the board of trustees at the U.S.-Indonesia Society (USINDO)[2] and is a board member at the Asia Foundation[3] and the Bhutan Foundation.[4] Blake also serves on the Global Leadership Council for the World Resources Institute[5] and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).[6]

He is the son of Robert O. Blake and grandson of Sheldon Whitehouse, both former U.S. Ambassadors.

Diplomatic career

Blake is a career Foreign Service Officer, having entered the Foreign Service in 1985. He has served at the U.S. embassies in Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt. He also has held a number of positions at the State Department in Washington, D.C. Blake served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission in New Delhi, India, from 2003 to 2006 where he was named the worldwide DCM of the Year by the State Department.Blake arrived in Sri Lanka on September 8, 2006, to take up his duties as Ambassador to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives. Blake presented his credentials on September 9 to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. In January 2007 he met with President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to discuss renewable energy in the Maldives. In February 2007, Blake received minor injuries from a mortar blast while exiting a helicopter at a Sri Lankan air base in Batticaloa, where he was to attend a development meeting. Tamil rebels are believed to be responsible for the mortar attack.[7] The Tigers claimed they were not informed by the government that the ambassador was present and were only returning fire from the Sri Lankan Army.

Blake was known to be engaged in the Sri Lankan civil society and practice what came to be known as "Public Diplomacy" which led some to label him as an interferer in internal affairs of the country.[8]

Blake succeeded Richard Boucher when he assumed his duties as the Assistant Secretary for Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on May 26, 2009,[9] for which he was awarded the State Department's Distinguished Service Award. He was replaced by Nisha Desai Biswal on October 23, 2013, after being nominated by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia.[10] [11]

Personal life

Blake earned a B.A. from Harvard College in 1980 and an M.A. in international relations from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in 1984. He is married to Sofia Blake. They have three daughters.

References

Sources

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Robert O. Blake, Jr.. McLarty Associates.
  2. Web site: Trustees. USINDO. en-US. 2019-02-04.
  3. Web site: Board of Trustees. Williams. Nicola. The Asia Foundation. en-US. 2019-02-04.
  4. Web site: Our Team. Bhutan Foundation. en-US. 2019-02-04.
  5. Web site: Global Leadership Council World Resources Institute. www.wri.org. 2019-02-04.
  6. Web site: NRDC Annual Report 2017. Issuu. en. 2019-02-04.
  7. "Diplomats hurt in S Lanka attack", BBC News, February 27, 2007
  8. http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title Robert Blake’s insistence on ‘equal rights’ and interference in Sri Lanka’s Internal Affairs
  9. Blake, Robert, O. Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State https://web.archive.org/web/20090610171507/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/124322.htm.
  10. Web site: President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts. National Archives. whitehouse.gov. 30 July 2013 . 2 November 2013.
  11. Web site: Robert O. Blake, Jr.. https://web.archive.org/web/20090610171507/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/124322.htm. dead. 10 June 2009. 18 November 2013. U.S. Department of State. U.S. State Department.