Davies began his diplomatic career with postings to the U.S. Consulate General in
Melbourne, Australia from 1980 to 1982, and the U.S. Embassy
Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Congo) from 1982 to 1984. He was Special Assistant to Secretary of State
George Shultz from 1986 to 1987. From 1987 to 1992, Davies served in the
U.S. State Department’s Office of European Security and Political Affairs working primarily on
NATO nuclear and disarmament issues, followed by an assignment as Political-Military Affairs Officer, and then as Deputy Political Counselor at the
U.S. Embassy in Paris. Some of his senior-level diplomatic assignments include serving as the Director of the State Department Operations Center from 1992 to 1994, and Deputy Spokesman and Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs from 1995 to 1997. From there he went on to be Executive Secretary of the
White House National Security Council Staff from 1997 to 1999. Prior to that, Davies served as the Special Representative of the U.S. Secretary of State for North Korea Policy from January 2012 to November 2014. In this capacity, he was responsible for coordinating U.S. involvement in the Six-Party Talks process, as well as all other aspects of U.S. security, political, economic, human rights, and humanitarian assistance policy regarding North Korea. President Obama appointed Davies as
United States Ambassador to Thailand on April 14, 2015. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 5, 2015. He presented his credentials on September 22, 2015, and served until September 29, 2018. ==Personal life and education==