Richard Schmierer

Richard J. Schmierer (born 1950) is a United States diplomat. He served as the United States Ambassador to Oman through August 2012.

Early life Schmierer was born in the state of New Jersey and graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1968; the school inducted him into its hall of fame in 2015. He graduated from Lehigh University in 1974 and got his Master's and PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1975 and 1977, respectively. Schmierer is a career Foreign Service Officer and a member of Senior Foreign Service of the State Department.

Political career Schmierer started his diplomatic career in 1980 working in the diplomatic mission in Bonn, Frankfurt and Hamburg from 1980 through 1984. He was then enrolled in an Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies program which lasted a year. Following its completion, he served as Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. In 1988-1992, Schmierer worked at the headquarters of United States Information Agency, first as the head of the Middle East office of the International Visitor Program, then at the Office of European Affairs.

On June 11, 2009, he was appointed United States Ambassador to Oman by President Barack Obama. The Senate confirmed the appointment on July 10, 2009. He was sworn in on August 20, 2009 replacing Gary A. Grappo who had served as Ambassador to Oman since March 6, 2006.