Ambassador Frances Dee Cook, a career Foreign Service Officer, was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman in 1995. Amb. Cook joined the Foreign Service in 1967. Her first assignment after language training was Special Assistant to Sargent Shriver, Ambassador to France from 1968-1969. Her language skills included fluent French and Arabic. She served in virtually all the professional fields of the Foreign Service. Ambassador Cook is a Senior Advisor at GardaWorld Federal Services. Ambassador Cook has served in the following capacities: member of the U.S. Delegation to Paris Peace Talks on Vietnam, 1970-1971; U.S. Consulate General, Sydney, Australia, 1971-1973; U.S. Embassy, Dakar, Senegal, 1973-1975; Personnel Officer for Africa, USIA, 1975-1977; Director of the Press Office, Bureau of African Affairs, Department of State, 1978-1980; Ambassador to the Republic of Burundi, 1980-1983; Consul General, Alexandria, Egypt, 1983-1986; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Assistance, Bureau of Refugee Programs, 1986-1987; Director, Office of West Africa Affairs, Department of State, 1987-1989; Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon, 1989-1993; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Regional Security Affairs, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, 1993-1995.