Biography of John T. McCarthy

John McCarthy and his wife, Marija, a well-known artist and educator, in their Woodbury home (Photo courtesy: David Peter Arnold)

John T. McCarthy was born and raised in New York City. He joined the Foreign Service of the United States of America in 1962 and worked for over three decades at various American Embassies and Consulates in Europe, Asia and Africa or in the State Department in Washington. He was American Ambassador to Tunisia from 1991-1994 and American Ambassador to Lebanon from 1988 to 1990.  Before that, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Other positions he has held include:

• Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, where he managed a $5 million program to make  Americans aware of foreign policy through publications and public speaking.
  
  
• Director of the State Department’s Office of Investment, where he concluded bilateral investment treaties with several nations and led the US delegation to an on-going United Nations Conference on multinational corporations.
  
  
• Economic Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, working to expand trade, investment and energy cooperation with Europe.

Since retiring from the State Department, Mr. McCarthy was on the board of trustees of Save the Children USA for six years and was Chairman of the International Save the Children Alliance from 1999-2002.  He was President of the Washington Art Association in Washington, Connecticut from 2002-2006. Currently he is on the Woodbury Democratic Town Committee and the board of the World Affairs Council in Hartford and is a volunteer at both Waterbury Hospital and the Children’s Community School in Waterbury.  He and his wife, Marija, a well-known painter and educator, have lived in Woodbury since 1996. They have a son and two daughters.

Ambassador McCarthy holds a B.A. in History and Political Science and an Honorary Doctor of Law from Manhattan College and a Masters in Public  Administration from Harvard University.

For more information, contact John McCarthy at (203) 263-6544 or john@friendsofjohnmccarthy.com