Paul Berg, a distinguished member of the U.S. Foreign Service since 1983, served in important positions in Vietnam, Italy, Mexico, Colombia, New Guinea, Belgium, Afghanistan and Washington DC. He is excited to share his insights as a newly retired Foreign Service officer
Paul Berg, a member of the U.S. Foreign Service since 1983, most recently served overseas as Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Rome; prior to that, he was Senior Civilian Representative at the Regional Platform Southwest at Camp Leatherneck, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He was promoted into the Senior Foreign Service (SFS) Fall 2011, following a tour as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) of the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, also accredited to Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. From 2007 to April 2009, he was Deputy Director of the Western Hemisphere Bureau’s Office of Policy, Planning and Regional Coordination. From 2003-2006, he was Principal Officer of the U.S. Consulate General in Medan, which he reopened. During his three years there, he was the U.S. government’s point man on the insurgency in Aceh and oversaw USG response to the December 2004 Aceh tsunami and March 2005 Nias earthquake. In March 2007, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issued him a Distinguished Honor Award for his achievements there. He has also received four individual Superior Honor Awards.
Prior to his service in Indonesia, Mr. Berg served as Plan Colombia Director at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia 2001-2002. He was Deputy Chief of the Political Section at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam 1998-2001. Before that, he oversaw law enforcement and political-military affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City 1994-1997. He has also served in Rome, Brussels, Bombay and Washington, DC. Mr. Berg’s languages are French, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, Vietnamese, Bahasa Indonesia and Pashto.
Mr. Berg is a 2007 graduate of the National War College in Fort McNair, Washington DC, with a Masters in Strategic Studies. He has Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University in the City of New York. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he was Acting Executive Director of International House in New York City, and before that was a local politician in Wisconsin