U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday appointed Thomas Adams as Special Coordinator for Haiti to oversee the United States affairs with the Caribbean island nation.

Adams will lead the Haiti Special Coordinator’s office which oversees diplomatic relations and the implementation of a reconstruction strategy in partnership with the government of Haiti and other donors.

Adams previously served as Coordinator of Assistance to Europe and Eurasia from 2005 to 2008. He was responsible for the design and implementation of all U.S. assistance to the 29 nations that emerged from communism in the region.

In that period, Adams supervised a staff of 35 people and controlled the annual allocation of approximately $800 million for assistance. The new Haiti Special Coordinator managed an additional $1.5 billion from other U.S. agencies aimed at helping target countries make the transition to full democracies and market economies.

Adams brings over 35 years of government experience to the State Department’s long term recovery effort in the Caribbean island nation. He is a 2010 recipient of the Department of State’s Director General’s Cup.

He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. Adams speaks French, Swahili, and Hungarian. Over the course of his career, he was awarded three Meritorious and two Superior Honor Awards.

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