Teddy B. Taylor was sworn in as United States Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu on September 21, 2009.

He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service holding the rank of Minister Counselor. Prior to this appointment, Taylor served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Director of the Office of Employee Relations in the Bureau of Human Resources.

Specializing in consular affairs, Taylor has served as the U.S. Consul General at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba (2001-2003) and the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, Hungary (1995-99). During his assignment to Budapest,Taylor was awarded the Department’s prestigious Barbara Watson Award for Consular Excellence, in recognition of his innovative and inspirational leadership of the consular section and consular issues at the Embassy. In addition to his first tour in Guatemala (1978-80) as a consular/economic officer, Taylor also served as a consular officer at the American Embassies in Tegucigalpa, Honduras (1983-85) and Panama, Republic of Panama (1981-83). Additionally, he served as the Special Assistant in the Office of Visa Services in the Bureau of Consular Affairs (1992-93).

Mr. Taylor was the Deputy Director of Press and Public Affairs in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (1985-87), Deputy Policy Officer for Latin America at the former United States Information Agency (1987-88), Deputy Director for East Asian and Pacific Assignments in the Bureau of Human Resources (1988-91), Deputy Examiner, Board of Foreign Service Examiners, Bureau of Human Resources (1991-92) and Director of the Orientation Division at the Foreign Service Institute (1999-2001).

Taylor was a member of the forty sixth Senior Seminar; the Department of State’s premiere senior leadership training program. His foreign languages are Spanish, Turkish, and Hungarian.

Taylor is a 1975 graduate of Florida A&M University and received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He joined the Foreign Service in 1978, serving his first tour at the American Embassy in Guatemala City, Republic of Guatemala.

He is a native of the District of Columbia.