Ambassador Thomas Niles retired from the United States Foreign Service in September 1998 following a career of more than 36 years. On February 1, 1999, Ambassador Niles assumed the Presidency of the United States Council for International Business (USCIB). USCIB advances the global interests of American business both at home and abroad, promoting an open system of world trade, finance, and investment. It is the American affiliate of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD, and the International Organization of Employers (IOE). The IOE is the business component of the International Labor Organization (ILO). On April 15, Ambassador Niles retired as President of USCIB and moved into the position as Vice Chairman of the Council.
In the Foreign Service, Ambassador Niles served as Ambassador to Canada (1985-89), Ambassador to the European Union (1989-91), Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Canada (1991-93), and Ambassador to Greece (1993-97). Earlier in his career, Ambassador Niles served in Belgrade, Moscow (twice), and the United States Mission to NATO in Brussels as well as in the Department of State.
Ambassador Niles was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1939. He received his B.A. from Harvard in 1960 and an M.A. from the University of Kentucky in 1962. He speaks French, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, and Greek. He is married to the former Carroll Ehringhaus of Charlotte, North Carolina. They have two children.