Changes at the US Embassy in Mogadishu: Amb. André Is Out, Replaced by Amb. Riley

Richard H. Riley, IV is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. He currently serves as Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. Previously, Riley was the Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Peshawar, Pakistan.

He has also served in senior leadership assignments such as Charge d’Affaires, ad interim, and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway; Assistant Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan; Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a, Yemen; and Senior Civilian Representative at the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

Earlier, he was Deputy Director of the Office of Egypt and Levant Affairs at the Department of State, Senior Coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, and Deputy Team Leader of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Dhi Qar (Nassiriyah), Iraq. Riley has also served in London, Moscow, Beijing and Chengdu, as well as Kingston, Jamaica.

He replaces Ambassador Larry André, Jr of Texas, who was confirmed by the US Senate back in December of 2021 and presented his credentials on February 7, 2022.

André is a career diplomat with extensive experience on the African continent, including two previous ambassadorships in Djibouti and Mauritania. Ambassador André leaves a legacy of improving the relations between the two countries. He was a great ally in the fight against the terrorist group, Al-Shabaab.