Hon. Thomas Carter, U.S. Ambassador (Ret)

The Honorable Thomas Carter, Gamma Delta (Memphis), was initiated into Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity on April 9, 1971. He served as the Fraternity’s first intern as an undergraduate in addition to serving on the Council of Archons. After graduating from the University of Memphis and receiving his USAF commission, Carter was employed on Pi Kappa Phi staff as a consultant in 1975 while awaiting call to active duty pilot training. His Air Force career consisted of airlift unit assignments, where he rose to instructor and flight examiner status and flew multiple special operations missions worldwide. Carter left active duty in 1986 after a tour in the White House as the Air Force Aide to President Ronald Reagan. From 1986 to 1990, he served as a national security advisor for Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole. He completed his master’s degree in national security studies from Georgetown University in 1990. Throughout his career, he held numerous roles in Washington, D.C., related to national security, as well as service in Iraq with the Coalition Provisional Authority from 2003 to 2004. He most recently served from 2017 to 2020 as the United States representative to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization, with the rank of ambassador, in Montreal, Canada.  He currently is the chairman of the Board of Directors for the Low Country Chapter of the American Red Cross in Charleston, South Carolina.

Highlights

• Mr. Pi Kappa Phi (2016)
• Pi Kappa Phi Hall of Fame (2012)
• Meritorious Service Medal (1981, 1984)
• Air Medal (1983)
• Air Force Aide to President Ronald Reagan (1984-86)
• Defense Superior Service Medal (1986)
• Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster (1997, 2004)
• Defense Distinguished Medal (2009)
• Retired Major General – United States Air Force Reserve Command
• United States Representative to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (2017-20)