Philip Reeker
Melady Round of Lectures sponsored by the Knights of Columbus (Potomac Council)
at the
Catholic Information Center
“The Current Diplomatic Situation in Iraq”
By Philip T. Reeker
Deputy Spokesman for the U.S. Department of State
Introductory Remarks by
Thomas P. Melady
former U. S. Ambassador to the Vatican
Philip Reeker, Deputy Spokesman, Department of State
Term of Appointment: May 1, 2001 to present
Philip Reeker became Deputy Spokesman of the Department of State in May 2000. In this capacity he oversees the Offices of Press Relations, Regional Media Outreach, and Foreign Press Centers. Previously, from July 1999, Mr. Reeker was Director of the Office
of Press Relations within the Bureau of Public Affairs.
Mr. Reeker joined the Foreign Service with the U.S. Information Agency in March 1992. His first overseas assignment was as Assistant Information Officer in Budapest, Hungary from 1993 to 1996. He moved on to be Public Affairs Officer at the American Embassy in Skopje, Macedonia from 1997 through June 1999. In that capacity, he was spokesman for Ambassador Christopher Hill in his dual role as Ambassador to Macedonia and U.S. Special Envoy for Kosovo.
Born in Pennsylvania, Philip Reeker grew up in several U.S. cities and spent his high school years in Brisbane, Australia. He received a B.A. in history from Yale University (Class of 1986), and a Master of International Management from the American Graduate
School of International Management (“Thunderbird”) in Arizona. His foreign languages are Hungarian, Macedonian, and German.
Thomas Patrick Melady, Jr.
Dr. Melady held four diplomatic posts including US Ambassador to Burundi; Senior Advisor to the US delegation to the UN General Assembly; US Ambassador to Uganda; and US Ambassador to the Holy See. He served as President of Sacred Heart University and where he is now President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Political Science. Previously, he was the Executive Officer of St.
Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and a Professor of African-Asian Affairs at Seton Hall University. He also served as Assistant Secretary for Post Secondary Education in the US Department of Education. He currently serves as the Senior Diplomat in Residence at the Institute of World Politics. He received his doctorate from The Catholic University of America. Melady is a personal friend of three generations of the Bush Family. Pope Paul VI knighted Melady in 1968 and Pope John Paul II knighted him in 1983. He is a member of the Knights of Malta.
Ambassador Melady is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and we are honored that he is a member of the Potomac
Council.