Name William Stanton | Role Diplomat | |
William A. "Bill" Stanton (traditional Chinese: 司徒文; born 1947) is a United States career diplomat.
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Early life and education
Stanton earned a B.A. magna cum laude from Fordham University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in English literature from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Career
Stanton joined the US State Department in 1978. He was Director of the Office of UN Political Affairs from 1999–2001, Director of the Office of Egyptian and North African Affairs from 2001–2003. In 2003 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Canberra and served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim (acting Ambassador) from 2005 to 2006 following the departure of Ambassador Tom Schieffer in January 2005.
Stanton left Canberra in 2006 and was appointed Deputy Chief of Mission of US Embassy in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Most recently, he held the position of the Director of the American Institute in Taiwan, Taipei from August 28, 2009 to August 1, 2012. This position serves as de facto U.S. ambassador to Taiwan because the two countries do not have formal diplomatic ties, a necessity in order for the United States to have formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
Following his retirement in August 2012, he was granted a Resident Certificate for his efforts in promoting US-Taiwan ties.
After diplomacy
Stanton is currently the George K.C. Yeh Distinguished Chair at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu where he is the Director of the University's Asia Policy Center.
Family
Stanton is married to another Ambassador, Karen Stanton (ambassador to East Timor) with two daughters, Katherine and Elizabeth.