William E. Lucas, a 32-year veteran of the Foreign Service, recently assumed the post of Diplomat in Residence at the Duke University Center for International Studies. In that role, Bill, a North Carolina native and graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will provide insight on the foreign policy process and serve as a campus resource for information on careers with the U.S. Department of State, especially in the foreign service, as well as for information on the foreign service examination process and State Department intern programs. His on-campus office is located in Room 112 of the Franklin Center.
Mr. Lucas joins two former Diplomats in Residence in the Franklin Center, Ambassador Patrick Duddy, now a Visiting Senior Lecturer on International Studies and Steve Kelley, Visiting Professor of the Practice of Public Policy and Canadian Studies.
William E. Lucas, Diplomat in Residence
Mr. Lucas is a member of the U.S. Department of State’s senior foreign service, with overseas assignments in Europe, Africa, East Asia, and South Asia. Most recently, Bill served in Kabul where he established and led a 25-person civilian-military team dedicated to strengthening rule of law and the justice system in Afghanistan. Prior to that, he served intermittently as deputy assistant secretary (acting) in the European affairs bureau and charge d’affaires (acting) at Embassy Prague. At that time, he also led for three years the State Department’s office for European Union affairs, where he had earlier served as deputy director. His U.S.-EU experience also includes a tour of duty as political officer in the U.S. Mission to the EU in Brussels.
As Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Mr. Lucas headed a large section at a time of conflict and Government negotiation with Islamic factions in the south and with remnant Communist forces in the country, as well as domestic political instability and national elections. Mr. Lucas’ Africa experience centers largely on southern Africa, with significant exposure to eastern and central Africa as well. He worked for one year at the National Security Council as director for Africa. Mr. Lucas served as deputy director of the southern African affairs office, covering ten countries and the region-wide Southern African Development Community (SADC). He also took assignments twice as political officer in the U.S. Embassy, Pretoria and as desk officer for South Africa in Washington.
Other assignments include coordinator for OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) affairs in the Department; director of U.S. policy on human rights, humanitarian, and social issues in the UN; special assistant (for Europe) to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs; Russia desk officer; Denmark/Norway desk officer; conventional arms control officer; and analyst for NATO and European security issues. His foreign languages are French and Afrikaans.
Mr. Lucas received the Morehead Scholarship (based on academics, character, and leadership) to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated with a BA in English. After private, overland travel through 20 sub-Saharan African countries, he enrolled in the Johns Hopkins University, School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Washington, DC. In addition to his MA from SAIS, Mr. Lucas received a Master’s degree in Political Science from Stanford University on a mid-career sabbatical from the State Department.
Mr. Lucas was born in Greensboro, North Carolina and is married to Jill Williams Lucas, also a graduate of UNC-CH and communications director at the Potomac School in McLean, VA. They have three children.
