Ambassador James F. Moriarty was the chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) from 2016 to 2023. Prior to this position, he served as special assistant to the President of
the United States and senior director for Asia at the National Security Council (2002-2004). In
that role, he advised the President and coordinated US policy on East Asia, Southeast Asia, the
Pacific, and South Asia. Moriarty served previously as director for China affairs at the National
Security Council (2001-2002). He led the political sections at the US Embassy in Beijing (1998-
2001) and the American Institute in Taiwan (1995-1998). In Beijing, he helped negotiate
agreements that put to rest tensions resulting from the US bombing of the Chinese Embassy in
Belgrade and the collision of a Chinese fighter jet with a US EP3. In Taipei, he helped create the
template for the United States to work with a democratically elected Taiwan administration.
Moriarty was also US ambassador to Bangladesh (2008-2011) and Nepal (2004-2007). Earlier
assignments in Moriarty’s 36-year career as a US diplomat included additional postings in Taipei
(1988-1989) and Beijing (1989-1991), as well as work in Washington, DC, South Asia, and
Africa. Since retiring from the Foreign Service in 2011, Ambassador Moriarty has worked in the
private sector and as an independent consultant.
