|
 Ambassador Planty is President of his own
consulting company, Planty & Associates LLC, and was a co-founder of
Port Security International (PSI), a firm that works on homeland
security solutions. The Ambassador’s 37 year professional career
includes public service at the local, state and national levels and
private sector experience.
Prior to establishing Planty & Associates,
Ambassador Planty was Senior Managing Director at ManattJones Global
Strategies (2001-2003), an international consulting firm in
Washington, D. C. From 2003-4 he was Chairman of the Board of the
Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production, an independent
organization dedicated to eliminating sweatshop conditions in
apparel factories. From 1999-2001, he served as the Executive
Director of Caribbean/Latin American Action (C/LAA), a non-profit
organization that promotes US trade and investment in Latin America
and the Caribbean.
From 1996-99, Ambassador Planty was the U.S.
Ambassador to Guatemala. As Ambassador to Guatemala, he was
instrumental in facilitating the historic 1996 Peace Accords which
ended four decades of internal conflict in that country. He is a 30
year veteran of the U.S. diplomatic service and is an expert on
Latin American affairs and European security issues. In addition to
Guatemala, Ambassador Planty has lived and worked in Panama, Chile,
Mexico, Norway, Italy and Spain at key periods in the modern history
of these nations.
From 1981-83 and again from 1986-89, Ambassador
Planty helped negotiate the Treaty of Friendship, Defense and
Cooperation between the U.S. and Spain and was awarded the State
Department’s Superior Honor Award for his work on the negotiations.
Ambassador Planty is considered one of the foremost experts on Spain
and most experienced base rights negotiators.
Ambassador Planty was Minister-Counselor (second
in charge) of the U.S. Embassy in Norway, 1989-92. During this
period, he helped manage NATO’s adjustment to the fall of Communism
in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
In 1983, Ambassador Planty negotiated the
historic agreement to restore diplomatic relations between the U.S.
and the Vatican and served as the first US Charge d’Affaires to the
Holy See.
Ambassador Planty has two books in progress, one
on the Guatemalan peace process and a second on US-Vatican
relations.
Ambassador Planty is also familiar with domestic
issues and institutions, including the U.S. Congress. From 1978-79,
he was a legislative assistant to Senator John H. Chafee (R-RI).
After his stint in Senator Chafee’s office, the Ambassador worked as
legislative management officer in the Bureau of Congressional
Relations at the Department of State. He was a staff assistant for
operations in the Executive Office of the Secretary of State from
1977-78. |
