A veteran diplomat with more than 30 years of experience, William A. Stanton has served as director of the American Institute in Taiwan since August 2009. The Institute has served as the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan since 1979, when the United States switched its official diplomatic recognition to China.

 

Born in New Jersey, Stanton attended college at Fordham University in New York, earning a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He received his master’s degree and PhD (1978) in English literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, during which he received a National Defense Education Act Fellowship.

 

He also spent a year studying at Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany.

 

During his 31-year career in the Foreign Service, Stanton has served as the consular and political officer at Embassy Beirut (1979-1981); as watch officer in the State Department’s Operations Center (1981-1982); as staff assistant for the Assistant Secretary for Near East and South Asian Affairs (1982-1983); and as country officer for Lebanon (1983-1985). He was stationed in Taiwan in 1986 and then served as political officer in Beijing (1987-1990), where he also served as chief of internal political reporting (1989-1990).

 

From 1991-1993, Stanton was political-military affairs officer in Islamabad, Pakistan. He was then special assistant for East Asia and Pacific affairs for the Under Secretary for Political Affairs (1993-1994); and deputy director for the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs (1994-1995).

 

He returned to China for two assignments at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing (1995-1998), including one as minister counselor for political affairs.

 

From 1999-2001 he served as director of the Office of UN Political Affairs, and then as director of the Office of Egyptian and North African Affairs (2001-2003).

 

He served as deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia (2003-2006) and deputy chief of mission in Seoul, South Korea (2006-2009), prior to his appointment to the American Institute in Taiwan.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

William A. Stanton Biography (American Institute in Taiwan)

William A. Stanton’s Speeches and Remarks (American Institute in Taiwan)