About the Embassy
Deputy Chief of Mission, Theodore Allegra
Theodore Allegra is a senior career diplomatic and consular officer of the United States and is currently Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Mr. Allegra recently served as Director for Regional Affairs in the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, where he developed counterterrorism strategies and policies for theaters of terrorist operations worldwide and inaugurated several regional initiatives to enhance cooperation with partner nations. Previously, he was Deputy Director of Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island Affairs, where he was responsible for management and policy issues for countries ranging from Australia to a dozen Pacific Island states, including three former U.S. trust territories.
From 2001-2004, Mr. Allegra was Deputy Consul General and Chief of American Citizen Services at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines, where he managed a series of crises involving Americans including terrorism, kidnappings, natural disasters, and crime. Prior to his assignment to Manila, Mr. Allegra was the Chief of the Political Section at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh. There, he actively monitored political developments during the period following Cambodia’s 1998 national elections, including significant human rights and refugee issues and efforts to establish a tribunal for the atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge period.
Mr. Allegra entered the Foreign Service in 1991 and was assigned for two years to the U.S. Consulate General in Karachi, Pakistan. He then returned to Washington to work in the State Department’s Executive Secretariat, where he coordinated East Asia issues for the Secretary of State and frequently traveled overseas to prepare for visits of the Secretary and the Secretary’s participation in the President’s foreign travel. In 1995, he was assigned to the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs, where he formulated and implemented U.S. policies on Hong Kong in the run-up to its reversion to Chinese sovereignty.
During his Foreign Service career, Mr. Allegra has received five individual Superior Honor Awards and has figured in four group Superior Honor Awards. He also received the 1998 Department of State Award for Exceptional Achievement in Human Rights and Democracy.
Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Allegra was a lawyer in Colorado. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado, a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver, and a Master of Laws in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University. He is married and has two sons.
