M. Osman Siddique is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center. He previously served as ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Fiji with concurrent accreditations to the Kingdom of Tonga, the Republic of Nauru, and the Government of Tuvalu from 1999-2001. As the first American Muslim and American of South Asian descent to serve as a US ambassador and Chief of Mission, he is in a unique position to bridge cross-cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity, which is necessary in dealing with the important issues that the United States faces today.

Prior to that, he was chairman and chief executive officer of ITT/Travelogue, a company he founded in 1976 that later became a major national chain. He was a founding member and shareholder of CorpNet International, a consortium of domestic and international travel companies, with revenues exceeding $1.5 billion. Siddique is the author of a memoir Leaps of Faith: An Immigrant’s Odyssey of Struggle, Success, and Service to his Country.

In 1995, Siddique served on several presidential delegations attending high-level convenings including the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism and the First Hemispheric Trade and Commerce Forum. He also served on the National Democratic Institute’s International Observer Delegation to the Bangladesh Parliamentary Elections in 1996. In 1999, Siddique represented the United States as its co-leader to the First Meeting of the Conference of the Pacific Community held in Tahiti.

In 2000, President Clinton invited ambassador Siddique to join the Presidential entourage on his historic State visit to India and Bangladesh as a member of his Cabinet Delegation. Following the 2000 Fijian paramilitary coup, Siddique played a critical role in the restoration of democracy and the rehabilitation of that country. A prolific writer and sought-after speaker on geopolitical issues including interfaith and cross-cultural dilemmas, Siddique has been profiled and recognized by Forbes, Success Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the Singapore Strait Times, and other national and international media. He has also appeared frequently on CNN, Voice of America, Al Jazeera, and other international news media. Siddique also served as a member of many prominent national and international boards and served as strategic advisors to several boards. In 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed him as a trustee to the board of governors of the East-West Center in Hawaii. Siddique received his MBA from the Kelley School of Business of Indiana University in 1974. He and his family continue to be active in several philanthropic and community-based organizations in and around Washington, DC.