Former U.S. Consul General

David L. Arnett

David L. Arnett.

David L. Arnett is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. He was born in Indiana in 1943. The son of a career Army officer, he lived in both Austria and Japan in the 1950’s. After graduation from Wabash College as an English major in 1965, he spent four years in the Army with service in the Azores and Vietnam. He received his Ph.D. in English from Tulane University in 1973 and entered the Foreign Service in 1974.

His Foreign Service career includes tours as a Junior Officer in Munich and Hamburg, Cultural Attache in Copenhagen, Press Attache in Ankara, Public Affairs Counselor in Oslo, Deputy Minister Counselor for Public Affairs in Bonn, Counselor for Public Affairs in Ankara, Minister Counselor for Public Affairs in Bonn/Berlin, and Director of the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the Department of State.

He is married to the former Vivi Smiler, who is originally from Norway. He speaks Danish, German, Norwegian, and Turkish. He served in Istanbul between July 2002 - July 2005.