The United States Mission in Nigeria has formally announced the appointment of Rick Swart as the new Consul General in Lagos.
The U.S. Mission in Nigeria, in a press statement issued on Friday by the Public Diplomacy Section, US Consulate General Lagos, said Swart had arrived in Nigeria on Wednesday.
He succeeds JoEllen Gorg who had served in an interim capacity since November 2024, following the departure of Will Stevens.
Swart will represent the U.S. government across 17 states in southern Nigeria and is expected to oversee efforts aimed at deepening trade, strengthening ties with Nigerians, and advancing key U.S.-Nigeria priorities in the region.
Speaking on his new role, Swart said: “I am honoured to serve in Nigeria. I am excited about the opportunity to travel across the region, meet the people, experience the culture, while advancing the shared goals of making our two countries safer, stronger, and more prosperous.
“I thank JoEllen for her remarkable leadership and for the outstanding work she has done to promote our close partnership with the Nigerian people in the region.
“I look forward to working closely with Ambassador Mills and the team at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, to further advance the shared objectives between Nigeria and the United States.”
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that Rick Swart has been a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service since joining the State Department in 2002.
He has built a resume across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Most recently, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission and briefly as Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Chad from August 2023 to February 2025.
Swart’s diplomatic journey spans critical roles, including:
• Chargé d’Affaires in the Republics of Chad, Congo, and Burundi, where he led U.S. missions during transitional periods.
• Deputy Consul General in Baghdad, Iraq, managing consular operations in a conflict zone.
• Humanitarian Assistance Officer for Africa at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva.
• Consular and Political Roles in London, Manila, Dubai, and Niamey, Niger.
Before his diplomatic career, Swart served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, immersing himself in grassroots development, and completed a semester-long outdoor leadership program with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in Kenya.
