Former Ambassadors

Gregory Lee Johnson

Ambassador Gregory Lee Johnson was born in Ellensburg, in the western state of Washington, in 1945. He graduated from Franklin High School in Seattle in 1963 and in 1967 he earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science at Washington State University. In 1969 he earned a master's degree in international relations from the American University in Washington, DC.

Ambassador Johnson began his career in the foreign service of the United States in 1968, and served in Vietnam (1969-1971), Japan (1972-1976), Somalia (1976-1978), Brazil (1978-1980), and Moscow (1981-1983). From 1983 to 1988 Ambassador Johnson held assignments in the Department of State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research and attended the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania, and was subsequently appointed Division Chief in the Department's Bureau of Personnel.  From 1989 to 1992 Ambassador Johnson served as Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Osaka-Kobe, Japan. In 1992-1993 he attended the Department's Senior Executive Seminar, prior to his appointment as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. From 1996 to 1999 he served as Consul General of the United States in Toronto.