James Lawrence was the Director of the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the Bureau of Political-Military affairs of the US State Department until his retirement in 2012. From 1980 to 1996 Mr. Lawrence served as the Executive Director of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. Before joining the State Department Mr. Lawrence was a Peace Corps English teacher in Morocco from 1968 to 1970. From 1972 to 1974 Mr. Lawrence directed Peace Corps training at the American Legation in Tangier, Morocco, serving also as site manager for this important, historical property. From 1974 to 1979 he served as Desk Officer and then Area Director in the Africa Region at Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington DC. Mr. Lawrence has wide-ranging international experience, with postings in Europe, Morocco, Indonesia, and Africa. He was a Fulbright professor at Hassanudin University in Ujung Pandang, Indonesia in 1971. Selected for the Department’s most senior level management training, Mr. Lawrence spent nine months in 1997-1998 studying the state of the nation and US national security as a member of the 40th Senior Seminar class.
