PR-99-43 | August 31, 1999
RAYMOND F. BURGHARDT
DIRECTOR, AMERICAN INSTITUTE IN TAIWAN, TAIPEI
Mr. Raymond F. Burghardt became Director of AIT on August 31, 1999.
Prior to assuming his current position, Mr. Burghardt was the U.S. Consul General in Shanghai, a position he held from 1997-1999. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassies in Manila (1993-96) and Seoul (1990-93). In Seoul, he was the Charge d’Affaires ad interim in 1993 during the first six months of the Clinton Administration.
Mr. Burghardt’s previous positions included an assignment on the National Security Council staff as Special Assistant to President Reagan and Senior Director of Latin American Affairs. His earlier Latin American experience included service in the U.S. Embassies in Honduras and Guatemala. In addition, he has served as Political Counselor in Beijing (1987-89), as political officer in Hong Kong and Saigon, and as Deputy Director of the State Department’s Office of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia Affairs.
Mr. Burghardt was born in New York City in 1945 and grew up in the New York metropolitan area. He received a B.A. from Columbia College in 1967 and did graduate work at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia, South America, before joining the Foreign Service in 1969.
Mr. Burghardt is married to the former Susan Day. They have two daughters. He speaks Mandarin Chinese, which he studied in Taichung, as well as Spanish, Vietnamese and French.
