The United States Consulate General in Lagos has announced the arrival of Brandon Hudspeth as its new Consul General, marking the beginning of his three-year tenure as the senior U.S. government representative across the 17 states of southern Nigeria.
Hudspeth, an accomplished diplomat and career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, succeeded Rick Swart, who retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in July.
The new Consul General returns to Lagos for a second assignment, having previously served as Political-Economic Section Chief at the U.S. Consulate General from 2020 to 2022.
“I am honoured to return to Lagos as the U.S. Consul General,” Hudspeth said, highlighting the strength of the U.S.-Nigeria relationship and the shared energy, ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit of both countries.
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He said he looked forward to reconnecting with old friends, building new partnerships and working with Nigerians to expand trade and investment, promote innovation, strengthen cooperation in technology and the creative industries, and create opportunities that support shared prosperity.
Hudspeth brings more than two decades of diplomatic experience spanning Africa, Asia, Latin America and Washington, D.C.
Before returning to Nigeria, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Windhoek, Namibia. He previously served as Director of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, where he led U.S. civilian assistance programmes focused on law enforcement, rule of law, counter-narcotics efforts and maritime security cooperation.
His other overseas assignments included Political-Economic Section Chief in Bamako, Mali; Nonimmigrant Visa Chief in Havana, Cuba; and Political-Military Officer in Kabul, Afghanistan.
In Washington, Hudspeth served in the Department of State’s Operations Center, on the Secretariat Staff supporting the Secretary of State, and as a Desk Officer in the Bureau of African Affairs.
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A native of Texas, Hudspeth is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Morehouse College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics. He later obtained a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University, where he was a Distinguished Graduate.
His return to Lagos comes as the United States and Nigeria continue to deepen cooperation across trade, investment, technology, security and other areas of mutual interest.
