Meet new US Consul General in Lagos, Brandon Hudspeth

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The United States Mission in Nigeria has announced the arrival of Brandon Hudspeth as the new Consul General at the US Consulate General in Lagos.

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Hudspeth will serve a three-year tenure as the senior US government representative across the 17 states in southern Nigeria.

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He succeeds Rick Swart, who retired from the US Foreign Service in July.

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According to U.S. Consulate General Lagos Press Office in a statement on Friday, Hudspeth, a career member of the US Senior Foreign Service, is returning to Lagos for the second time. He previously served as the Political-Economic Section Chief at the US Consulate General in Lagos between 2020 and 2022.

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Speaking on his return, Hudspeth said he was honoured to resume his diplomatic assignment in Lagos.

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“I am honoured to return to Lagos as the U.S. Consul General. I know firsthand the strength of the U.S.-Nigeria partnership and the extraordinary energy, ingenuity, and entrepreneurial spirit that Nigerians and Americans share,” he said

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He said he looked forward to reconnecting with old friends and building new partnerships while working with Nigerians to strengthen bilateral relations.

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According to him, his priorities would include expanding trade and investment, driving innovation, strengthening collaboration in the technology and creative industries, and creating new opportunities for shared prosperity between Nigeria and the United States.

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Hudspeth brings about two decades of diplomatic experience spanning Africa, Asia, Latin America and Washington, DC.

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Before his Lagos posting, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Windhoek, Namibia.

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His previous assignments include Director of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement at the US Embassy in the Philippines, where he led US civilian assistance programmes supporting law enforcement, rule of law, counter-narcotics efforts and maritime security cooperation.

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He also served as Political-Economic Section Chief in Bamako, Mali; Nonimmigrant Visa Chief in Havana, Cuba; and Political-Military Officer in Kabul, Afghanistan.

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In Washington, he worked at the Department of State’s Operations Centre, on the Secretariat Staff supporting the Secretary of State, and as a Desk Officer in the Bureau of African Affairs.

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A native of Texas, Hudspeth is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Morehouse College, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics.

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He holds a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University, where he was a Distinguished Graduate.

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