| J Christopher Stevens | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 10th United States Ambassador to Libya | |
| In office June 7, 2012 – September 11, 2012 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Gene Cretz |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Christopher Stevens April 18, 1960[1] Grass Valley, California, United States |
| Died | September 11, 2012 (aged 52) Benghazi, Libya |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of California at Berkeley University of California, Hastings College of the Law National War College |
| Profession | Diplomat, lawyer |
| Religion | Christian |
J. Christopher Stevens (April 18, 1960 – September 11, 2012) was an American diplomatand lawyer who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Libya from June 2012 to September 2012.[2][3] He was killed when the U.S. consulate was attacked in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012.[4][2]
Early life and education
John Christopher "Chris" Stevens was born on April 18, 1960, in Grass Valley, California,[5][6][7] the oldest of three children[8] of Jan S. Stevens, California Assistant Attorney General,[8] and his wife Mary Floris.[9] He was raised in Northern California. His parents divorced in the early 1970s. Both remarried, and Christopher had a half-sister by his father's second marriage;[8] his mother became a cellist with the Marin Symphony Orchestra beginning in 1976,[10] and married Robert Commanday, a longtime music critic with the San Francisco Chronicle.[7]
Stevens attended Pioneer Elementary School and Emerson Junior High in Davis, was anAFS Intercultural Programs exchange student in Spain during summer of 1977, and graduated from Piedmont High School(fact-http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/09/12/168197/slain-us-ambassador-chris-stevens.html ) in 1978. He earned a B.A. in history in 1982 at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. From 1983 to 1985, he taught English as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco. He graduated with a J.D. from theUniversity of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1989, and received an M.S. degree from the National War College in 2010. He spoke English, Arabic, and French.
Prior to joining the United States Foreign Service, Stevens was an international tradelawyer based in Washington, D.C.[3] He was admitted as an active member of the State Bar of California on January 26, 1990; he went on inactive status on August 1, 1991, and remained an inactive member for the remainder of his career.[11]
Stevens was a member of the Chinook Indian Tribe in Washington state.[12]
[edit]U.S. Foreign Service
Stevens joined the United States Foreign Service in 1991. His previous overseas assignments included: Deputy Principal officer and Political Section Chief in Jerusalem; political officer in Damascus; consular/political officer in Cairo; and consular/economic officer in Riyadh. In Washington, Ambassador Stevens served as Director of the Office of Multilateral Nuclear and Security Affairs; Pearson Fellow with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; special assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs; Iran desk officer; and staff assistant in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
He had served in Libya twice previously: as the Deputy Chief of Mission (from 2007 to 2009) and as Special Representative to theNational Transitional Council (from March 2011 to November 2011) during the Libyan revolution. He arrived in Tripoli in May 2012 as the U.S. Ambassador to Libya.[3]
[edit]Death
Stevens was the first U.S. ambassador to die in office since the 1988 aircrash in Pakistan which killed Arnold Lewis Raphel. Stevens is the eighth U.S. Ambassador to be killed in the line of duty.[13]
Early reports said Libyan protestors, allegedly provoked by insults against the Islamic prophet Mohammed depicted in the filmInnocence of Muslims, had organized into street mobs that attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.[14] However, the controversial film was screened only once (in June, before fewer than a dozen people). Moreover, some attackers used military-grade weapons (including RPGs) and seemed to know the locations of the secret safe house sites. This, along with the symbolism of the date of the attacks (the anniversary of the September 11 attacks), led to speculation by the British Quilliam think tank that the raid was pre-planned – possibly as revenge by al-Qaeda for the U.S. killing Abu Yahya al-Libi in a drone strike months earlier.[15][16]
A rocket propelled grenade attack reportedly created a fire in the main consulate building with three Americans inside — Stevens, Sean Smith, and a security officer.[17] According to U.S. officials, the security officer escaped and the staff found Smith dead. However, the staff were unable to locate Ambassador Stevens before being driven from the building under small arms fire.[17] Stevens apparently became separated from his staff while trying to escape to the roof and was ultimately overcome by smoke inhalation.[18][19] Local civilians found Stevens and brought him to the Benghazi Medical Centre in a state of cardiac arrest. Medical personnel tried to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead at about 2:00am local time.[17]
The surviving Americans were taken to a safe house. A rescue squad consisting of eight U.S. military or former military was sent fromTripoli, the capital. They were ambushed and the safe house came under attack. Two more Americans died, including one sent from Tripoli; several were wounded.[17][20][21] Later reports identified the victims as Tyrone S. Woods and Glen A. Doherty, both ex-Navy SEALs working as security and intelligence contractors.[22][23] U.S. officials began an investigation.
"When crazy people call you crazy, you know you're sane.
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