Deputy Chief of Mission
Biography
Samuel Brock arrived in Kinshasa August, 2007 as Chargé d’affaires pending the arrival of Ambassador William Garvelink later in the year. Upon the new ambassador's arrival Mr. Brock became the Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM).
Having joined the Foreign Service in 1983, Mr. Brock holds the rank of Minister Counselor. Kinshasa is his fourth tour in Africa, including a tour as DCM in Cotonou (1996-99), as well as assignments in Algeria and Cape Verde. His other overseas tours are Seoul, Mexico City, and Marseille.
Mr. Brock was the director of North American affairs at the National Security Council from 2002-03. Among his other Washington assignments are four tours in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, including as interim director of the Office of UN Political Affairs and Director of the Office of UNESCO Affairs. He was also assigned to the U.S. Mission to the Organization of American States.
A native of Radford, Virginia, Mr. Brock graduated cum laude from the Catholic University of America in 1974 and obtained an M.A. degree with honors from Georgetown University in 1983. Prior to joining the Foreign Service he worked as a contract interpreter for the Department of State and as an administrator for the Government of Spain at the Spanish Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica.
Mr. Brock has received two State Department Superior Honor Awards, four Meritorious Honor Awards and was recognized twice as a recipient of Senior Performance Pay. He was also decorated by the Governments of France (Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite) and Spain (Caballero de la Orden de Isabel la Católica), and by the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Washington, D.C. (Order of Merit) for his volunteer work.
An enthusiast of all types of music, Mr. Brock is a pianist and organist and has performed at numerous concerts in the Washington area and overseas as an accompanist to vocalists, instrumentalists and choral groups. In 2007 he recorded a CD of Negro spirituals with Natalie Carter, a prominent Washington area contralto.
Married to the former Odile Marie-Thérèse Soudée, Mr. Brock has four daughters: Gabrielle, Charlotte, Sophie, and Odette.
Mr. Brock speaks French, Spanish and Portuguese.