Scott M. Oudkirk began his role as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission to NATO in September 2024. Before taking this position in Brussels, he was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara from July 2021 to July 2024. His earlier assignments included leading the Department of State’s Office of Iran Affairs as Director from 2018 to 2020 and focusing on Iraq and the counter-ISIS campaign from 2014 to 2017, where he served initially as the Deputy Political Counselor at Embassy Baghdad and later as Deputy Director and Acting Director of the State Department’s Office of Iraq Affairs.
Mr. Oudkirk, a seasoned member of the Senior Foreign Service, has experience in Ankara and Istanbul from two assignments and temporary duty spanning seven years. His career also includes time at the National Security Council and foreign postings in China and Jamaica.
Before joining the Foreign Service in 1998, Oudkirk worked with the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration and General Electric Company. He graduated from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and holds master's degrees from Columbia University and the National Defense University's Eisenhower School. Oudkirk is married to Sandra Oudkirk, former Director of the American Institute in Taiwan, and they have three children.