John O’Leary

John O’Leary is a retired Foreign Service Officer who now teaches foreign policy and international relations at Loyola University. Born, raised and educated in Chicago, he joined the diplomatic service in 1977 and served in the Congo, India, Pakistan, Germany, Haiti, Cameroon, Sweden, Mali, Rwanda, Chad and Kenya.  He also served in Washington as a foreign affairs political analyst in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He finished his career as Chargé d’Affaires in both Mali and Rwanda. While in the Service, he also served on the Boards of Directors for the international schools in Frankfurt, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Following his retirement, he served as a volunteer member of the Charleston, S.C., Police Department’s Homicide Cold Case Committee before joining Loyola.  He is married to the former Helen D’Souza of Goa, India and has two grown children, Brendan and Megan.