Ryan Crocker |
Wiki |
Ryan Clark Crocker (born on June 19, 1949 in Spokane, Washington) is a Career Ambassador within the United States Foreign Service and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was the United States Ambassador to Iraq until 2009; he previously served as the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan from 2004 to 2007, to Syria from 1998 to 2001, to Kuwait from 1994 to 1997, and to Lebanon from 1990 to 1993.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell called Crocker "one of our very best foreign service officers"; President George W. Bush called him America's Lawrence of Arabia and noted that General David Petraeus had said that "it was a great honor for me to be his military wingman."
Growing up, Crocker had family members in the U.S. Air Force and in Turkey. He lived in Morocco, Canada and Turkey. Crocker attended University College Dublin and Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, where he received a B.A. in English literature in 1971.