Mr. John J. Norris, Jr.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Mr. Norris is Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs with responsibility for the PRC, Taiwan, and Mongolia. Prior to his current position, he was Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs from July 2006 to July 2008.
Mr. Norris, who entered the Foreign Service in 1975, has spent the majority of his career working on Asian issues. From 2000-2003, Mr. Norris served as Consul General in Guangzhou, China. His other overseas assignments include: economic officer and consular officer at the American Embassy in Singapore (1976-1978); economic officer, political officer, and language student at the American Institute in Taiwan (1979-1982); political officer at the American Embassy in Beijing (1982-1985); and Chief of the Economic/Political Section of the American Consulate General in Shanghai (1989-1992).
His State Department assignments have included Director of the Taiwan Coordination Staff (1998-2000) and Deputy Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs (1992-1994). In addition, Mr. Norris served as senior watch officer in the State Department's Operations Center (1987-1988) and as economic officer in the Office of Egyptian Affairs (1985-1987).
From 1995 to 1998, the State Department assigned Mr. Norris to be an advisor for international affairs in the Office of the Vice President, where he covered East Asia and the Pacific, as well as international economic issues. He served in the Pentagon as Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commandant of the Marine Corps from September 2003 to July 2006.
Mr. Norris graduated from the University of Virginia in 1975 with a BA in economics. He also received a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University in 1989 and an MS degree from the National War College in 1995.