Phillip Chicola
Consul General of the United States of America

Phillip Chicola assumed the position of Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on August 25, 2008.

A career officer in the U.S. Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor, Phil Chicola joined the State Department in 1979. Over the past three decades, he has developed broad regional expertise and has dealt with some of Latin America's most difficult issues. He began his career serving as refugee officer for Latin America in the Bureau of Refugee Affairs. Following that, he served as a political officer in Guatemala, Chile and El Salvador. In El Salvador, he also served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires during a period when the United States played a central role in support of that country's nascent democracy and in securing a negotiated end to its civil war.

In 1996, he became Acting Director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination in the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs. A year later, he was asked to serve as Senior Adviser to the UN Transitional Administrator for Eastern Slavonia, Croatia. In 1998, he became Director of the Office of Andean Affairs where he helped develop and implement the $1.3 billion Plan Colombia, the $900 million Andean Regional initiative, and follow-up funding for the region of about $800 million per year. His office also dealt with the end of the Fujimori era and Peru's democratic transition, managed the challenges presented by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, and coordinated efforts to successfully restore Ecuador's democracy following the 2000 coup.

In July 2004, Mr. Chicola became Deputy Chief of Mission in Brazil. From July 2005 until the Ambassador's arrival in August 2006, he served as Chargé d'Affaires.

During his career, Phil has earned five Superior Honor Awards and two Meritorious Honor Awards; the Intelligence Collector of the Year Award in 1991; and the James Clement Dunn Award for Excellence.

A Cuban-American, Mr. Chicola came to the U.S. in 1961 and became a naturalized citizen in 1968. He is married and has two children.

He is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University and did his graduate work at Florida State University. He is also a graduate of the United States Army War College.

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