Michael Thurston

Biography

Michael and his family arrived to serve in Melbourne in September 2008.

Prior to his appointment to Melbourne, he served as the Team Leader of the Diyala South Embedded Provincial Reconstruction team, in Diyala Province, Iraq.

Michael has held extensive positions of diplomatic leadership. Prior to his time in Iraq, he was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda from 2005 to 2007. Preceding this, Michael was the Principal Officer of the U.S. Consulate General in Durban, South Africa from 2002 to 2005.

From 2000 to 2002 he was the Consul at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and had regional responsibility for consular affairs in Djibouti and Eritrea.

From 1996 to 2000 he was the Consul and Officer-In-Charge of the U.S. Consulate General in Auckland, New Zealand. Michael has also served in U.S. embassies in Colombo, Sri Lanka and Mexico City.

In the Department of State he has had assignments as a Staff Assistant for the Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs and has also served as an analyst in the Office of Strategic Proliferation Affairs in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.

Before joining the Foreign Service in 1988, he worked as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for King County in Seattle.

Michael is a graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle, and the University of Washington, School of Law.

Michael is married to Sabine Lang Thurston, a lawyer, and has two sons.

The Thurston family is enjoying their time in the Melbourne Consular district, taking many opportunities to experience and explore Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

Consul General

The Consul General is the post’s Principal Officer and coordinates all functions of the U.S. Government in the Melbourne consular district. The Consul General maintains contact with senior Australian officials, both state and federal, within the consular district and keeps the Embassy and Washington informed of important political, economic and other developments affecting U.S. interests. The Consul General often represents the United States at public functions and addresses various groups and organizations on issues affecting Australian-American relations. Briefing visiting U.S. officials and American business representatives is also an important responsibility.

Last update: Thursday, 13 August 2009 GMT+1000