Brandon Hudspeth has commenced his three-year tenure as the new United States (US) Consulate General in Lagos, serving as the senior US government representative across the 17 states of southern Nigeria.
As noted by the Press Office of the Public Diplomacy Section at the Consulate General, Lagos, he will be succeeding Consul General Rick Swart, who retired from the US Foreign Service in July.
Hudspeth is a native of Texas, an accomplished diplomat and a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. He will be in Lagos for the second time, having previously been the Political-Economic Section chief from 2020 to 2022.
He brings with him two decades of diplomatic experience spanning Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Washington. His last assignment was as the deputy chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Windhoek, Namibia. His earlier assignments include serving as director of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement at the US Embassy in the Philippines, where he led US civilian assistance programs supporting law enforcement, rule of law, counter-narcotics efforts, and maritime security cooperation.
He also served as Political-Economic Section chief in Bamako, Mali; non-immigrant Visa chief in Havana, Cuba; and Political-Military officer in Kabul, Afghanistan. In Washington, D.C., he served in the Department of State’s Operations Centre, on the Secretariat Staff supporting the Secretary of State, and as a Desk officer in the Bureau of African Affairs.
Hudspeth is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Morehouse College, where he received a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Economics. He earned a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School. He was also a Distinguished Graduate of the National Defence University, where he obtained a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy.
He expressed his delight at his return to Lagos, also noting his plan to build new partnerships and work alongside Nigerians to expand trade and investment, drive innovation, strengthen collaboration in the technology and creative industries, and create new opportunities that advance shared prosperity for both countries.
‘I am honored to return to Lagos as the US Consul General,’ Hudspeth said. ‘I know firsthand the strength of the US-Nigeria partnership and the extraordinary energy, ingenuity, and entrepreneurial spirit that Nigerians and Americans share’, he said.