Christopher Stevens served as the United States Ambassador to Libya in 2012.  Prior to serving as Ambassador he held a wide array of diplomatic positions, including deputy principal officer and political section chief in Jerusalem; political officer in Damascus; consular/political officer in Cairo; and consular/economic officer in Riyadh.  He also held several Foreign Service posts in Washington, D.C., and served with the Peace Corps from 1983 – 1985 in Morocco.  His interest in public service and in the people and cultures of the world was evident during his time at Piedmont High School, and prompted him to spend a summer in Spain through the AFS Intercultural Program.  While at PHS he was the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, played in the high school band, was a member of the varsity tennis team, and acted in several musicals.  He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1982 with a major in History; received a J.D. from Hastings College of the Law in 1989; and received a Masters from the National War College in 2010.  He was fluent in Arabic, French, and Italian and also spoke some Spanish. 

Ambassador Stevens believed in the power of diplomacy and public service to change the world.  He was known for walking the streets of the cities in the middle east where he served, eating the local food and visiting with ordinary citizens, a wide smile on his face.  Shortly after Ambassador Stevens died in an attack at the U.S. Consulate in Benghanzi, President Barack Obama said this about him at a speech before the United Nations:  “…Chris Stevens embodied the best of America. Like his fellow Foreign Service officers, he built bridges across oceans and cultures, and was deeply invested in the international cooperation that the United Nations represents. He acted with humility, but he also stood up for a set of principles — a belief that individuals should be free to determine their own destiny, and live with liberty, dignity, justice, and opportunity.”