Ambassador David H. Shinn

Last Name: Shinn

First Name: David

Middle Name: H.
Suffix:

Nickname:

Medals and Honors: American Academy of Diplomacy, State Department Superior Honor (3)

ACNSL Offices and Committees: Africa Strategic Committee

Rank: Senior Foreign Service

Service/Department: U.S. Department of State

Last or Significant Assignment: Ambassador to Ethiopia

Areas of Experience: Africa, International Relations and Diplomacy

Articles, Books, and Publications: Flight Path: Son of Africa to Warrior- Diplomat

David Shinn served for 37 years in the Foreign Service with assignments at embassies in Lebanon, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritania, Cameroon, Sudan, and as ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.  His several tours at the State Department in Washington, including director for East and Horn of Africa affairs.  He also served in the mayor’s office in Seattle and as a diplomat-in-residence at Southern University in Baton Rouge and the University of California at Los Angeles.  Since 2001, he has been teaching courses on Africa in the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. 

After retiring from the State Department, Shinn published numerous book chapters and articles in policy and academic journals.  He is the co-author of China and Africa: A Century of Engagement (2012), Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia (2013), and China’s Relations with Africa: A New Era of Strategic Engagement (2023).  He is the author of Hizmet in Africa: The Activities and Significance of the Gulen Movement (2015).

Shinn received his BA, MA, and PhD from George Washington University and a certificate in African studies from Northwestern University.