Ambassador-designate arrives in Manila

Manila—Ambassador designate Philip S. Goldberg was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines on November 21, 2013. From June 2010, he served as the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Prior to 2010 he served concurrently as the Coordinator for Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1874 on North Korea.

Goldberg served as Ambassador to Bolivia (2006-2008), Chief of Mission in Pristina, Kosovo (2004-2006), and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, Chile (2001-2004). Ambassador Goldberg, a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, served from January-June 2001 as acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs. He came to that position after having been a senior member of the State Department team handling the transition from the Clinton to Bush Administrations.

Goldberg served as Special Assistant (1996-1998) and then Executive Assistant (1998-2000) to Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott. From 1994-1996, he was the Department's Bosnia Desk Officer and was a member of the American negotiating team in the lead-up to the Dayton Peace Conference and Chief of Staff for the American Delegation at Dayton. Ambassador Goldberg has served overseas as a consular and political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, and political-economic officer in Pretoria, South Africa.

At his swearing-in ceremony Ambassador Designate Goldberg remarked, “If I’ve learned one thing from the Filipino friends I’ve made all around the world, and there are Filipinos all around the world, it’s that they’re warm, but they’re also tough and resilient. There should be no doubt that they will bounce back. I have no doubt. And I know that the President and the Secretary are committed to doing everything we can do to help the people of the Philippines make a full recovery and advance in the next stage of the country’s development.”

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