J. Michael  Cleverley ("Mike") retired from the Senior American Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor in April 2006.  At retirement he was serving as Deputy Permanent Representative at the American Mission to the United Nations in Rome. 

Over his State Department career, Mike Cleverley also worked as Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Athens, Greece (2000-2003), Deputy Stability Pact Coordinator at the Department of State (1999) and Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Helsinki (1996-1999), during which time he served for an extended time as Charge’d’Affaires. He has worked as Economic Counselor at the American Embassies in Pretoria, South Africa, and Athens Greece. 

Other Foreign Service assignments include London, Helsinki, Milan, and Washington, DC, where he worked on the staff of the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs.  He is the recipient of four Superior Honor Awards and a Meritorious Honor Award from the US Department of State, the Sinclaire Language Award from the American Foreign Service Association, and the Writer’s Award from the National War College.

Mike Cleverley holds Masters degrees from the Harvard Kennedy School (MPA) and Brigham Young University (Economics).  He is a graduate of the National War College and Brigham Young University (History).  He speaks Finnish, Italian, and Greek.  He is originally from Idaho Falls, Idaho. 

Michael and his wife, Seija Kaarina, have four children.  Seija Kaarina is the daughter of Finnish Karelian refugee parents evacuated before the Red Army during World Wqar II.  She moved to the United States in 1969.

Bio taken from Mike's website with permission. See his website here: http://www.mikecleverley.com/biographic