Ambassador Jimmy Story is the World Affairs Council Charleston’s next speaker on Oct. 18, from 6 to 7 p.m., at Charleston Library Society on 164 King St.
This timely talk will explore whether promoting democracy should remain a cornerstone of US foreign policy in an era marked by the erosion of democratic values, the rise of autocracies and the sobering fact that the vast majority of the world’s population does not live in a democracy.
While these trends challenge the global order, globalization is not receding — and our interconnected world demands cooperation. From pandemics and supply chain disruptions to climate change, mass migrations and cybersecurity, nations must honor their international commitments and work together to address the most pressing challenges of our time.
Jimmy (James) Story served as ambassador and chargé d’affaires to Venezuela from July 2018 to May 2023. In June 2024, Story was nominated as ambassador to Mozambique. While awaiting the final nomination, Story taught as a senior fellow at Georgetown University and served as the chargé d’affaires at the US Embassy to Angola and Sao Tome and Principe, as well as the chargé d’affaires in Eswatini and to the Dutch Caribbean from Curacao. He retired in May 2025.
A career senior Foreign Service Officer, Amb. Story served as Consul General in Rio de Janeiro; director of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Office for the Western Hemisphere; director of the INL Office in Bogota, Colombia and senior civilian representative in Southeastern Afghanistan. Amb. Story’s previous assignments include Sao Paulo, as the deputy principal officer and political-economic chief; Brasilia, as the regional environmental affairs director for South America; Washington, D.C., in the Office of Marine Conservation in the Oceans, Environment, and Scientific Bureau; Maputo, Mozambique, as economic-political officer; Guadalajara, Mexico, as a consular officer; and at the US Mission to the United Nations as the ambassador’s staff assistant.
Story is the recipient of numerous State Department and interagency awards including the Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards, the Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service Award, the Warren Christopher Award for Outstanding Achievement in Global Affairs, the Distinguished Honor Award for the Western Hemisphere Bureau, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Exceptional Service Award.
With local roots growing up in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, Story completed a B.A./B.Sc. in Interdisciplinary Studies from South Carolina College at the University of South Carolina, and later received an M.Sc. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. He speaks Portuguese and Spanish. He is married to Susan West Story, and they have a son, James McKelvey “Mac” Story.
