Mr. Bell entered the Foreign Service in August 1972, following studies

at the College of William and Mary (BA, 1969) and Cambridge University

(MA, 1971). His early diplomatic assignments included postings in Frankfurt,

Prague and Vienna as well as to the State Department Operations Center.

He completed Advanced East European Area Studies at the Foreign Service

Institute and attended the National Defense University. Mr. Bell subsequently

was assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he worked

on Soviet and East European political issues (1984-1985).

Mr. Bell served as Political-Economic Counselor in Prague (1985-1988)

and Political Counselor in Brussels (1989-1993). He directed the Office

of Russian and Eurasian Affairs in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research

(1993-1996). He also served as Director of the Office of United Kingdom,

Ireland and Benelux Affairs in the Bureau of European Affairs (1996-1999),

where he managed U.S. policy for relations with these countries.

In September 1999, he proceeded to Bern to serve as interim Chargé

d'Affaires, returning in the summer of 2000 to take up his assignment

as Director for Austria, Germany and Switzerland Affairs (2000-2002).

Mr. Bell has worked extensively on issues related to World War II and

the Holocaust. He led the U.S. team that helped organize the December

1997 London Conference on Nazi Gold. He also negotiated the successful

closeout of the postwar Tripartite Gold Commission and the subsequent

establishment of the $61 million Nazi Persecutee Relief Fund, which

provides relief to needy victims who had previously received little or no

compensation and also provides resources for projects aimed at preventing

similar injustices in the future. Mr. Bell worked closely with Treasury Deputy

Secretary Eizenstat to negotiate the two bilateral agreements concluded

with Austria in 2000 and 2001 for payments to former World War II forced

laborers and to individuals who lost property during that period. In his

current capacity as Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, he serves as

a member of the Board of Trustees of the German Foundation,

"Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future" and as an observer to

the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC).

Mr. Bell has earned the Department of State's Superior Honor Award

four times individually and once as a group award recipient. He speaks

German, French and Czech.

Mr. Bell is married and has a son. He is a member of the American

Foreign Service Association, the Virginia Historical Society, Phi Beta Kappa,

the Arlington-East Falls Church Civic Association, and St. Mary's Episcopal

Church in Arlington, Virginia.

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