Brandon Hudspeth has been appointed as the new US Consul General in Lagos succeeding Rick Swart, who retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in July.
As Consul General, Hudspeth is the senior US government representative covering the 17 states of southern Nigeria.
Brandon Hudspeth Background
Hudspeth has spent about two decades in the US Foreign Service, with diplomatic assignments across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Washington, D.C combining political-economic affairs, security, law enforcement, consular work and U.S.-Africa policy.
He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Morehouse College, where he studied Political Science and Economics. He subsequently earned a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University, where he graduated as a Distinguished Graduate.
Previous Nigerian experience
During that period, he met Nigerian political and business stakeholders and represented U.S. diplomatic positions on issues including democratic governance.
His return therefore gives him an unusual advantage: he al.ready has institutional knowledge of Lagos and established relationships in Nigeria, while his subsequent postings have given him experience at a more senior level.
Hudspeth has identified economic and technology cooperation as important priorities for his new assignment.
“I am honored to return to Lagos as the U.S. Consul General,” he said, stressing that he already knows the strength of the U.S.-Nigeria relationship and the entrepreneurial energy shared by Nigerians and Americans.
He said he intends to work with Nigerian stakeholders to expand trade and investment, drive innovation, deepen cooperation in the technology and creative industries, and create new opportunities for shared prosperity.
Other Diplomatic Postings
Before returning to Nigeria, Hudspeth served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Windhoek, Namibia.
He has also served n the Philippines as Director of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement at the U.S. Embassy in Manila. There, he oversaw U.S. civilian assistance programmes dealing with law enforcement, the rule of law, counter-narcotics and maritime security cooperation.
Before that, he served as Political-Economic Section Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Bamako, Mali. He also served as Nonimmigrant Visa Chief in Havana, Cuba, and as a Political-Military Officer in Kabul, Afghanistan.
