David T. Johnson was raised in
Georgia and educated at
Emory University, from which he received a
B.A. in
Economics in 1976. He spent a year working in the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency before joining the
United States Foreign Service in 1977. In the course of his career in the Foreign Service, Johnson focused on European security affairs and served as desk officer for
Berlin,
Austria, and
Switzerland; an economic officer at the
Embassy of the United States in Berlin; and a vice consul at the U.S. Consulate General in
Ciudad Juárez. He later served as Deputy Spokesman at the State Department and Director of the State Department Press Office; United States Consul General in
Vancouver; and Deputy Director of the State Department's Operations Center. He spent 1988-89 studying at the
Royal Military College of Canada. In 1995, Johnson became Deputy Press Secretary for Foreign Affairs at the
White House and Spokesman for the
United States National Security Council. In January 1998, he became
United States ambassador to the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a position he held until December 2001. In May 2002, with the advent of the
War in Afghanistan, Johnson became the
United States Department of State's Coordinator for Afghanistan, a position he held until July 2003. In August 2003, he became
Deputy Chief of Mission at the
U.S. Embassy, London. In 2007,
President of the United States George W. Bush nominated Johnson as
Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Following
Senate confirmation, he was sworn into office on October 31, 2007. Since 2012, he has been a member of the
International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). ==References==