On December 28, 1995, Frances Dee Cook, a career Foreign Service Officer, was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman. Ms. 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.

Ambassador Cook was born on September 7, 1945, in Charleston, West Virginia to Nash (deceased) and Vivian Cook, and grew up in Florida. She attended Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia where she received a B.A. in 1967. In 1978, she received a M.P.A. from Harvard University. Ambassador Cook was also the recipient of various Certificats d’Etudes from the Universite d’Aix-Marseille, France, 1966.

Throughout her career with the State Department, Ambassador Cook received various honors and awards including: membership in the Senior Foreign Service with the personal rank of Minister-Counselor; the Council on Foreign Relations, Phi Beta Kappa Alumni, American Foreign Service Association, Harvard Club (New York), and the Army-Navy Club (Washington).