May 26, 2003 - Personal Web Page: Maureen Gomes Lyon was a Peace Corps volunteer and staff officer in Brazil

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Brazil: Peace Corps Brazil: The Peace Corps in Brazil: May 26, 2003 - Personal Web Page: Maureen Gomes Lyon was a Peace Corps volunteer and staff officer in Brazil

By Admin1 (admin) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 5:03 pm: Edit Post

Maureen Gomes Lyon was a Peace Corps volunteer and staff officer in Brazil



Maureen Gomes Lyon was a Peace Corps volunteer and staff officer in Brazil

January 06, 2003 U.S. ENVOY LYON ARRIVES IN FIJI ISLANDS

David L. Lyon arrived in Nadi on January 6. He is the new American Ambassador-designate to the Republic of the Fiji Islands. He also is charged with representing the U.S. to the Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu and the Republic of Nauru. Speaking from California before departure for Nadi, Lyon noted that Fiji has been a traditional friend and trading partner of the United States since the first European and American ships arrived in the South Pacific in the mid-19th century.

He praised the significant role that Fijian soldiers have played alongside American soldiers from the Solomons in World War II to peacekeeping missions around the world, including in the Sinai today.

Lyon added, “after a ten-year hiatus, I am delighted the Peace Corps is moving forward to reestablish its program in Fiji later this year.” Last month in Washington when Lyon was sworn in, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell observed that Lyon brings to Fiji “deep experience in Asia and the Pacific, earned over the course of a 28 year career that has taken him to the Philippines, Thailand, and China, among other postings.” Powell noted that Ambassador Lyon’s previous position as U.S. Consul General in Melbourne, Australia gave Lyon a “window into the current personalities and politics of the Pacific Islands.”

Secretary Powell emphasized the importance of Ambassador Lyon’s mission, saying, “David is taking on a big job. It’s not just the geographic range – four countries covering nearly a million square miles of the Pacific; it’s the importance that President Bush and the American people attribute to our relations with these four island nations and their people that makes David’s job so significant.” Specifically discussing Fiji, Powell pointed out, “Fiji is a traditional friend and partner that ‘punches above its weight’ on the world stage.

The international community values and respects the service of Fijian peacekeepers around the world.” Ambassador Lyon expressed his enthusiasm for his new job and for the country in which he will serve. He said while preparing for moving to Fiji, he had clearly been led to understand that “Fiji’s natural beauty is matched only by the friendliness of its people.” Lyon also observed, “tens of thousands of Americans visit this beautiful country each year as tourists, with others traveling here for business, academic, or personal reasons.”

Ambassador Lyon replaces former U.S. Ambassador Osman Siddique who left Fiji in June 2001. The Embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires (acting Ambassador), Hugh Neighbour, will remain in Suva and serve as Deputy to Ambassador Lyon. Ambassador Lyon is accompanied to Fiji by his wife Maureen Gomes Lyon. Prior to their marriage, Mrs. Lyon was an Army nurse in the U.S. and Okinawa and a Peace Corps volunteer and staff officer in Brazil and the Philippines.

The Lyon’s two children Nathan and Jo are university students in Australia. Biography on Ambassador-designate David Laurence Lyon Ambassador Lyon was born in Frankfurt and grew up in Germany, Brazil and the United States. He joined the Foreign Service in 1974 after graduating with a degree of History from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. His previous overseas posts include Lagos, Nigeria (1974-76); Recife, Brazil (1976-78); Accra, Ghana (1978-80); Manila, the Philippines (1980-84); Bangkok, Thailand (1987-91); Beijing, China (1996-99), and Melbourne, Australia (1999-2002).

From 1984-86, Ambassador Lyon was Deputy Director, then Acting Director, of the Office of Regional Affairs in the Bureau of African Affairs. He spent the next year studying international security policy at the U.S. National War College. His third domestic assignment was in 1991-94 as an office director in the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics Matters.

Ambassador Lyon received Superior Honor Awards for his work in the Philippines, the Bureau of International Narcotics Matters, and China. He also received a Meritorious Honor Award for managing consular operations in China during the student demonstrations that followed the accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in May 1999. His other awards include three Senior Performance Awards, a Meritorious Service Increase, four nominations for the annual Consular Services award, the National War College Alumni Association’s award for Excellence in Research and Writing, and the 1997-98 Thomas Jefferson award for Outstanding Service to American Citizens Overseas.



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Story Source: Personal Web Page

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Brazil; COS - Fiji; Diplomacy

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