Stephen D. Mull (born April 30, 1958) is a Senior Foreign Service officer who was most recently the Acting Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs. He previously served as United States Ambassador to Poland, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs and United States Ambassador to Lithuania.
Ambassador Mull holds the rank of Career Ambassador, the highest diplomatic rank in the United States Foreign Service.
On September 18, 2015, Mull was appointed as the United States Lead Coordinator for Iran Nuclear Implementation, tasked with carrying out the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action by United States Secretary of State John Kerry.Appointment of Ambassador Stephen D. Mull as Lead Coordinator for Iran Nuclear Implementation
In 2024, Secretary of State Antony Blinken appointed him to coordinate the peaceful transfer of power with the Trump Presidential Transition Team.
As of 2026, Mull is the Vice Provost for Global Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Biography Mull was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science degree in International Politics from the School of Foreign Service in 1980.
Mull is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service in the class of Career Ambassador. He previously served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Jakarta, Indonesia, and has served as a Consular or Political Officer for the U.S. Missions in Poland, the Bahamas, and South Africa since the beginning of his career in the Foreign Service in 1982.
Prior to his assignment in Jakarta, Mull worked as Deputy Director of the State Department Operations Center, as Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, as Director of the Office of Southern European Affairs in the Bureau of European Affairs, and as Deputy Executive Secretary in the Office of the Secretary of State.
On March 10, 2003, then-U.S. President George W. Bush nominated Mull as the U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania.Mr. Stephen D. Mull Nominated as New United States Ambassador to Lithuania: Biography After being confirmed by the Senate, he assumed his position on August 26, 2003. He completed his tour of duty on July 18, 2006.New U.S. Ambassador Arrives in Lithuania
On April 30, 2009, Mull testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on international efforts to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia.Stephen Mull on Piracy off of the Coast of Somalia
Mull is married to Cheri Stephan. The Mulls have one child, Ryan.
Ambassador to Poland Stephen Mull was appointed the United States Ambassador to Poland on October 24, 2012. He speaks Polish fluently. He served in that role until 2015.
In June 1986, the Polish government ordered Mull, then the U.S. second secretary at the embassy, to leave Poland following his alleged attempt to photograph radar installations.
Awards Director General's Award for Political Reporting, 1988 Superior Honor Award (four times) Balker-Wilkins Award Presidential Meritorious Service Award, 2003 Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (5th Class), 1997M.P. 1997 nr 66 poz. 645 – mistaken as Stephan Mull Order for Merits to Lithuania (3rd Class), 2006 Order of Polonia Restituta (2nd Class), 2015
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