Ambassador James David McGee, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service in the class of Minister Counselor, spent the majority of his 30-year Foreign Service career overseas working in support of U.S. Government policy. Most of his work included political-military affairs, crisis management, and international negotiation and management. He has been U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Madagascar, and the Comoros Islands.

James David McGee was born in Chicago, Illinois.  He graduated from Indiana University in 1968 and then served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1974.  While in Vietnam he earned three Distinguished Flying Crosses.  Also while in the U.S. Air Force, McGee learned Vietnamese at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California.  He also speaks French.

Ambassador McGee began his career in the Foreign Service in 1981 and from 1982 to 1984 served as third secretary and vice consul at the U.S. Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria. Following these appointments he was an administrator officer at the American Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan (1984-1986), secretary and supervisory general services officer at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands (1986-1989), and administrative officer at the American Consulate in Bombay, India (1989-1991). Additionally, Ambassador McGee was assigned to the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of Finance and Management Policy from 1991 to 1992. Other overseas tours included his serving as administrative counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica from 1995 to 1998 and administrative counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan, Côte dIvoire from 1998 to 2001.

In 2002, President George W. Bush nominated McGee to become U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Swaziland. After U.S. Senate confirmation he arrived in Mbabane, the capital, and served there until 2004. President Bush then nominated him to serve as the U.S ambassador to the Republic of Madagascar where he served from 2004 to 2007.  While in Antananarivo, the capital of