The most senior career diplomat in the US State Department has decided to retire, exactly one year after he oversaw the transition to President Donald Trump's administration, he said today. Thomas Shannon will retire as undersecretary of state for political affairs, after 35 years in which he served as an ambassador, an acting assistant secretary of state and, for two weeks last year, acting secretary of state. Shannon ran the State Department in the interim period between the departure of former president Barack Obama's secretary of state John Kerry and the arrival of Trump's nominee, Rex Tillerson, a period which was marked by reports of dissent among career staff. But, in a retirement letter to colleagues, the 60- year-old Shannon gave no hint of political dissatisfaction, describing his decision as "personal, and driven by a desire to attend to my family, take stock of my life, and set a new direction for my remaining years." "I want to express my profound gratitude to the secretary and the president for the privilege of serving at the highest levels of the department during this past year," he wrote. "I have had the honor of serving under six presidents and 10 secretaries of state.
All have been extraordinary public servants and great Americans." In a statement, Tillerson praised Shannon for his counsel, which he said had been "well received over multiple administrations." "I particularly appreciate his depth of knowledge, the role he played during the transition -- as acting secretary of state during my confirmation and later as acting deputy secretary -- and his contributions to our strategy process over the past year." Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Steve Goldstein said Shannon's decision was a personal one and that Tillerson would have welcomed him staying on. "It's sad, but it's the decision of the undersecretary and we respect that decision," he said, briefing reporters on Tillerson's plane as the secretary embarked on a Latin American tour. The Trump administration has been slow at filling senior political posts at the State Department and many US diplomats and foreign envoys in Washington complain of chaos as the agency undergoes a re-organization. Shannon's departure could leave another hole in the upper echelons of US diplomacy, where 13 assistant secretary and undersecretary positions and dozens of ambassadorships remain unfilled and without nominees. Goldstein said Shannon had been invaluable during the transition and a "walking encyclopedia" of knowledge for Tillerson when the former oil executive holds Saturday morning policy meetings. The undersecretary, whose mother recently passed away, had promised to stay on a year after the handover and had done so -- and he will remain in place while his successor is designated.
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