James (Jim) Holtsnider is the Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of Political Military Affairs. A career Senior Foreign Service Officer, Jim previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission at Embassy Kuwait. Prior overseas assignments include reporting and management positions in Iraq, Tunisia, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Italy. In Washington, Jim has worked in the office of the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, in the Office of Iranian Affairs, and in the State Department’s Operations Center. Earlier in his career, Jim was the recipient of the State Department’s Leamon R. Hunt Award for Management Excellence and U.S. Army’s Meritorious Public Service Medal. Before joining the Foreign Service, Jim served for six years in the United States Marine Corps. Jim earned an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Colorado and a graduate degree in public policy from Princeton.