From Timbuktu to Duck and Cover
by US Ambassador (Ret.) Lewis Lucke
A native of North Carolina, Lewis Lucke served for 30 years overseas in the Foreign Service with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Department of State. Ambassador Lucke lived and worked in ten countries as part of his official duties - Mali, Senegal, Costa Rica, Tunisia, Bolivia, Jordan, Haiti, Kuwait, Iraq and Swaziland, the latter as US Ambassador. He was USAID Mission Director in Bolivia, Jordan, Haiti and the first ever USAID Director in Iraq.
In Iraq, Mr. Lucke led a $4 billion reconstruction effort in 2002-2004, the largest US-finaced reconstruction effort since the Marshall Plan. He was USAID Mission Director in Jordan at the passing of King Hussein and led US economic support to Jordan at this critical juncture. He also was the US "response coordinator" for the initial emergency response phase immediately after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
USAID is a US Agency, under the policy guidance of the US Department of State, that provides economic development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of US and host country development goals. Ambassador Lucke received USAID's highest awards for his career, including its awards for Distinguished Career and Heroism, and the Secretary of Defense's Medal for Exceptional Public Service.
Ambassador Lucke is now retired from the Foreign Service and devotes his efforts to two private companies, Grainster LLC and Waste to Energy Global Partners LLC.
From Timbuktu to Duck and Cover:
Improbable Tales from a Career in Foreign Service
While spending thirty years overseas in the US Foreign Service, and living in eleven countries and working in many more, Ambassador Lucke accumulated many stories that would never have happened “at home.”
Books by US Ambassador (Ret.) Lewis Lucke
US Ambassador (Ret.) Lewis Lucke