Robert T. Yamate

Ambassador Robert T. Yamate is known for his skilled leadership, management abilities, and extensive experience in the inter-agency process.  He recently retired after completing his tour as the U.S. Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros in April 2018.  Yamate previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Dakar, Senegal; Management Counselor, U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Minister Counselor for Management, U.S. Embassy Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire; Management Counselor, U.S. Embassy Harare, Zimbabwe; Administrative Officer, American Institute in Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan; Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy Apia, Western Samoa; Management Officer, U.S. Consulate Montreal, Canada; and at the U.S. Embassies in Tokyo, Japan and Budapest, Hungary.  From 1989 to 1991, he served as Administrative Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Antananarivo, Madagascar.  In Washington, he has served in the Operations Center, INR Detail, the Personnel Bureau (now the Bureau of Human Resources), and as an Assessor on the Board of Examiners. Yamate earned an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh in 1983, an MA in teaching from the University of LaVerne, California in 1977, and a B.S. in mathematics from California Polytechnic University at Pomona in California in 1973.  Yamate received two Senior Foreign Service Performance Awards, four Superior Honor Awards, and five Meritorious Honor Awards from the Department of State.  He speaks French, Japanese and Hungarian.