Donald K. Petterson

Donald K. Petterson (born November 17, 1930) is an American diplomat, and a career United States Foreign Service officer.

An African affairs specialist, during his career Petterson had overseas postings in Mexico, Zanzibar, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and South Africa, and was US Ambassador to Somalia, Tanzania, and Sudan. He also served as an interim chargé d'affaires in Zimbabwe and Liberia and had postings in the State Department when not serving overseas.

Early life Petterson was born in Huntington Park, California. in political science. American journalists were also arrested. The next day, the men were put on a plane and left the country. Many years later, Petterson told of these events in his book Revolution in Zanzibar (2004).

His next posting was as political officer at the US Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria, where he stayed until 1967. He was posted there from October 12, 1978, to December 30, 1982. He was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Khartoum from June 15, 1992, to July 28, 1995, when he retired.

He was briefly recalled to serve as chargé d’affaires in Liberia from February to August, 1999.

Personal life Petterson met his future wife in Mexico City in 1961, shortly after his arrival there, when she applied for a visa to visit the US. They married the same year and had a daughter by the end of his posting. They later had three more children.

Selected publications Donald K. Petterson, "Somalia and the United States, 1977–1983: the New Relationship" in Gerald J. Bender, James Smoot Coleman, Richard L. Sklar, African Crisis Areas and U.S. Foreign Policy (1985), pp. 194–204 Donald Petterson, Inside Sudan: Political Islam, Conflict, and Catastrophe, Westview Press, 2003, Donald Petterson, Revolution in Zanzibar: An American's Cold War Tale Westview, 2004,