Susan R. Johnson joined the Department of State in 1979. She has served in a variety of positions, both inside and outside the State Department, including as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) inMauritius and Romania . She has wide ranging bilateral, multilateral, inter-agency, legislative and non-governmental experience as well as substantive knowledge of Central Asia , the former Soviet Union , and Afghanistan .
Following her first postings to the US interest Section Havana, Cuba as Vice Consul (1979-80) and to the US Mission to the United Nations as political officer (1980-84), Ms. Johnson served as Special Assistant to Under Secretary for Political Affairs Armacost, responsible for Near East and South Asian Affairs 1984-86). In this position, and in subsequent assignments during the 1980’s, Afghanistan and related issues remained an important responsibility. These included Pearson Fellow Legislative Assistant to Senator Bradley (1986-87), Advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary (1988), Acting Refugee Counsellor in the US Embassy in Pakistan (1988), and a detail to the National Endowment for Democracy (1988-89). After assignment to Port Louis , Mauritius as DCM (1989-91), she resumed her association with the Central Asian region. On leave without pay from the State Department, she became Director for Central Asia for the International Executive Service Corps (IESC), establishing offices and programmes in Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan and Krygyzstan (1992-94).
Ms. Johnson served at Embassy Moscow from 1994-98 in two capacities. First, as Director of the Ambassador’s Assistance Unit (AAU), an inter-agency unit to monitor USG funded assistance to Russia , and then as Director of the G7 Support Implementation Group, an ad hoc secretariat to facilitate implementation of G7 assistance programmes in Russia . During this period, she oversaw the development of a multi-donor assistance database (DAD) which was adopted by other countries in the region and more recently has served as the precursor to a similar UNDP database for Afghanistan .
Following a year in the Office of the Secretary for Resources, Plans and Policy (1998-99), Ms. Johnson was assigned DCM, US Embassy Bucharest , Romania (1999-2002).
Most recently she served as the Senior Advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Baghdad , Iraq , and concurrently as the acting Director for Civil Affairs ministries.
Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Ms. Johnson worked with the Giovanni Angelli Foundation in Torino , Italy , with Valmont Industries in Omaha , Nebraska , in the area of strategic planning, and as a free lance consultant specialising in joint venture opportunities. In addition to service with IESC, a private voluntary organisation, Ms. Johnson was the first woman Rotarian in Mauritius , paving the way for Mauritian women to join Rotary, and Chair of the Board of the American International School of Bucharest.
Ms. Johnson received a B.A. in History, summa cum laude, from Principia College in Elsah , Illinois , in 1972 and an M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington , D.C. in 1974. She speaks fluent French, Italian, Spanish and Russian.
