Ambassador to Macedonia: Who Is Jess Baily?

Sunday, August 03, 2014

On July 8, 2014, President Barack Obama announced the nomination of Jess L. Baily, a career Foreign Service officer, as ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia. It will be the first ambassadorial posting for Baily.


The son of Oliver and Joan Baily, Jess Baily, a native of Cincinnati, graduated from St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, in 1978 and had an early focus on joining the Foreign Service. After high school he earned a B.A. in History and French Literature in 1982 from Yale and an M.A. from Columbia in European History in 1985.


Before joining the State Department, Baily worked at AMIDEAST, a non-profit organization that has training programs in English and other subjects for professionals in the Middle East and sponsors student exchanges between the United States and Middle Eastern nations.


Baily started work at the State Department in 1985, initially at the U.S. Information Agency (USIA). His early assignments included the U.S. embassies in Dakar, Senegal, and Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 1992, Baily became the binational center director at the embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. He returned to the United States in 1994 as the USIA desk officer for Francophone West Africa and was named a senior advisor in the office of USIA’s deputy director in 1995. Baily’s next USIA assignment was as the agency’s representative to the American Foreign Service Association.


In 1998, Baily went overseas again, this time to Turkey as cultural affairs officer in the embassy in Ankara, and then as information officer. He was transferred to the Netherlands in 2002 as counselor for public affairs in the embassy in The Hague.


Baily returned to the United States in 2005 as director of the Washington Foreign Press Centers. The foreign press centers, currently in Washington and New York, facilitate access for members of foreign media to U.S. government officials, political figures and information. The centers frequently sponsor foreign-only briefings and tours for reporters.


Beginning in 2007, Baily served a tour leading the State Department’s regional reconstruction team in Erbil, Iraq, which is in the Kurdish northern region of the country. He returned to Washington in 2008 as director of the Office of United Nations Political Affairs, which develops, coordinates and implements U.S. policy on political issues that are before the UN Security Council. In 2010, Baily was named director of the Office of Southeast European Affairs, where he managed bilateral relations between the United States and Turkey, Greece and Cyprus.


Baily returned to Turkey as deputy chief of mission in Ankara in 2011, where he has worked since.


Baily’s wife, Capie Polk Baily, is a former Foreign Service Officer. The couple has one son, Noah. Baily speaks Turkish, French and Thai.

-Steve Straehley


To Learn More:

Official Biography

Diplomat Leads Iraq Team (by Malia Rulon, Philadelphia Enquirer)

State Department Cables (WikiLeaks)


22Tango 2 years ago
Ambassador Bailey, Why did you funnel $5,000,000 of U.S. taxpayers money through the Obama State Department’s USAID program to George Soros’ Open Society Foundation’s local Macedonian “civil society” organizations?? Was it to directly attempt to undermine and destabilize the democratically elected, center right government in Macedonia?? Why else would you think it was a good idea for these Soros funded groups to translate Saul Alinsky’s book “Rules For Radicals” into Macedonian?? Were you hoping to create “terrorist” groups to overthrow the government of Macedonia?? Were you acting under Clinton/Obama orders??
Kitanovski 3 years ago
You need to leave Macedonia ASAP - You are disappointed to all Macedonians - You are the Worst Ambasador in Macedonia Ever! You need to be prosecuted for all you have done in your life . You are Disgraceful to USA and the the world politics.You need to go home !
Niko Invicta 4 years ago
Mr. Baily, We are Macedonians, We are the couch grass, We represent the undying love of life, You can not destroy us with revolution, We invented it twenty centuries ago. You are an ambassador and you represent the USA and your mission is to watch and inform your country, not to take actions in the internal affairs of Republic of Macedonia. We fight with corruption but you showed us that you approve it. I hope you leave our country as soon as possible and the next president of USA will send us a good friend. Long leave peace!
sotir ilievski 4 years ago
For Greeks, Albanians, Bulgarians and others, I have news for you, there is no Greece, Albania, Bulgaria or other states, all are corporations. These so called countries only exist as tools for the owners to divide, conquer, and enslave. Who are the owners? Foremost, the Rotschild/Widsor dynasties and the other families comprising the thirteen families of the Illuminati. Once the useful idiots are no longer of any use to the owners, they will be removed from "their", the Illuminati real estate, and replaced with refugees from the Middle East and Africa. You hate the Macedonians? Then enjoy the Muslims, Asians, and Africans who are replacing you as you read this. Now for Jess Bailey, You sir are a war criminal with blood on your hands as you have willingly offered yourself to serve a blood soaked corporation called "United States of America, Inc." or more properly UNITED STATES of AMERICA INC. a legal fiction resident in the District of Columbia and a usurper of The United States of America (Major). You, Jess Bailey the man, are causing me Sotir Ilievski harm. I, a man, am asking you, a man, to cease and desist causing me harm. If you do not cease and deceast causing me harm from May 19, 2016 by permanently leaving my land, Macedonia, I will demand payment from you, a man, of one thousand dollars per second, until you leave my land. I, a man, will take you, Jess Bailey, a man, to a "common law court of record" in Washington, DC to seek remedy. You are a criminal, not only for using counterfeit fiat "Federal Reserve Notes" which are illegal to use in the US and elsewhere, but you use these useless I.O.U.'s to foment revolution in Macedonia and elsewhere for the "Cabal". As a Macedonian, I with patriotic Macedonians, as men and women with rights from God, ask you to leave Macedonia. "We do not consent" to your fomenting a color revolution in Macedonia. Your instigation of this revolution has resulted in millions of dollars in damages of "my", "our" "property" common to all men and women of Macedonia. You represent a Corporation. A corporation cannot do harm to a man/woman. You sir, and the corporation you represent, are causing me and other men and women living on our land in Macedonia, harm. We men/women of Macedonia ask you to cease and desist causing harm to men and women in Macedonia and to immediately restore "my" "our" property. We, men and women of Macedonia ask you to leave and go back to your corporation in "WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA" immediately. Never to be replaced, never to come back.
Janko 6 years ago
Mr. Tsaknakis, why do you negate that the region in greece called Macedonia was named Macedonia in 1989 when it became evident that Yugoslavia will break up and there will be a Macedonia indepedent? The region before was called northern greece. How about the fact that greece freed itself around 1840 from Ottoman Empire but without aegean Macedonia? That's because it stayed a part of Macedonia until 1912 when it was divided up into 3 pieces. After that, greece killed and tortured and sent off lots of Macedonians from Aegean Macedonia to Turkey and other countries in 1922 and in 1948 during the greek civil war. What you say about the language is not true. Tell me why in Aegean Macedonia there are many Macedonians to this day who speak Macedonian and why is there no Greeks in the Republic of Macedonia? You nationalist murderous people will pay for it all one day, one way or another, God will set you straight for all the evil, you are an evil nation, devils.
James 6 years ago
I am a British citizen and Macedonian too. I can only add that People of Macedonia do not want an ambassador who denies them/us.
Angelos 6 years ago
Well so that we do not talk off the wrong orrifice here is the FAQ on the issue. Kudos btw to the Ambassador for doing his homework.
Dimitrios Tsaknakis 6 years ago
Dear Mrs. Marinkovski, Greek citizens are also offended that a recently established small country chose to unilaterally and by force use the name of a place (Macedonia) that has always spoken Greek (whereas FYROM speaks a completely different language, using a different alphabet of slavic origin - which by the way was also created/spread with greek involvement - please look up the origins of the Cyrillic script and its differences to the Greek one), always considered themselves Greek (please read what the ancient Macedonians had to say about themselves - learn ancient Greek first please, as all Macedonian writings & inscriptions including any ones found in your current geographic location are in that language, I wonder why), and has always been in the Greek geographic area of the time. This ongoing and continuing charade from FYROM is quite disturbing, to say the least, to Greek citizens, and I'm sure that Slavs aren't particularly pleased with the latest 'claims' FYROM makes about being offended with the term Slav. Ambassador Baily just said what the man saw there, and whoever doesn't believe him is encouraged to go there him/herself to find out if the people there are 'Macedonians' or what was correctly described. We fail to see how observing that a percentage of your country's population are slavic (along with the other lines correctly mentioned), and if there seems to be some form of ..identity crisis there it's not either the ambassador's fault, (nor anyone else's), nor is FYROM entitled to steal in order to compensate for that. Identify yourselves as you please, as long as it's not a lie that invades other countries' heritage, and stop trying to make impressions when someone else observes the obvious. Cheers
Sonja Marinkovski 6 years ago
Dear Mr.ambassador, I just read the macedonian news & saw the objection of the Macedonian government regarding your speech in which you are not appropriately using the righfull name of the country that you currently reside in.I personally find that offensive, because as a someone who represents USA in Macedonia,you of all people should do so.The government of MACEDONIA is right when asking you to correct it.Sincerly, Sonja Marinkovski

Leave a comment