The U.S. Mission in Lagos has announced the arrival of its new Consul General, Rick Swart. Swart takes over from JoEllen Gorg, who led the Consulate General in an interim capacity over the last seven months.
This was after the immediate past Consul General, Will Stevens, completed his tour of duty in November 2024.
The Consulate said on Friday that Swart was the senior U.S. government representative to the Nigerian people throughout the 17 states in southern Nigeria.
Swart, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, has held diplomatic roles across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, most recently as Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy in Chad.
According to the mission, he was responsible for leading and overseeing U.S. government activities that deepen trade and investment ties, expand people-to-people connections, and advance the full range of priorities in the U.S-Nigeria bilateral relationship across the region.
The Consulate quoted Swart to have said he was honoured to serve in Nigeria.
“I am excited about the opportunity to travel across the region, meet the people, experience the culture, while advancing the shared goals of making our two countries safer, stronger, and more prosperous.”
Swart also thanked JoEllen for her remarkable leadership and for the outstanding work she has done to promote close partnership between the U.S. and the Nigerian people in the region.
“I look forward to working closely with Ambassador Mills and the team at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, to further advance the shared objectives between Nigeria and the United States,” he said.
Swart diplomatic assignments include serving as Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., in the Republics of Chad, Congo, and Burundi; Deputy Consul General in Baghdad, Iraq.
“Also as a Humanitarian Assistance Officer for Africa at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva,’ he said
Before joining the State Department in 2002, Swart worked in the private sector on architectural and design projects in Asia and Africa.