David L. Arnett retired from the Department of State on November 30, 2005. He was a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. Born in Indiana in 1943 as the son of a career Army officer, he lived in both Austria and Japan in the 1950’s. After graduation from Wabash College as an English and Religion major in 1965, he spent four years in the Army with service in the Azores and Vietnam. He received his Ph.D. in English from Tulane University in 1973 and entered the Foreign Service in 1974. His Foreign Service career included tours as a Junior Officer in Munich and Hamburg, Cultural Attache in Copenhagen, Press Attache in Ankara, German Desk Officer in Wash., D.C., Public Affairs Officer in Oslo, Deputy Minister Counselor for Public Affairs in Bonn, Counselor for Public Affairs in Ankara, Minister Counselor for Public Affairs in Bonn/Berlin, and Director of the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy (EUR/PPD) in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the Department of State.


He served as the Consul General in Istanbul from July 2002 to August 2005. Mr. Arnett is married to the former Vivi Smiler, who is originally from Norway. He speaks Danish, German, Norwegian, and Turkish. He wrote a regular column for the Sedona Monthlymagazine for seven years. His first novel, Messengers, was published in 2011. His second novel, a thriller entitled The Sea of Cortez, has been published and made available in the last few months. He has also published poetry, one short story, and articles on foreign affairs in newspapers and journals. Mr. and Mrs. Arnett live in Sedona, Arizona.