Born in Ohio, Mr. Spelman was educated at Oberlin College (A.B. in Religion, 1963) and Harvard University (M.A. and Ph.D. in History and East Asian Languages, 1973).  In 1972, he served as an interpreter for the visit to the United States of the Chinese Ping-pong Team.  After several years spent teaching Chinese history at Bucknell University and managing student exchange programs in Taiwan (Oberlin-in-Taiwan) and Hong Kong (Yale-in-China), in 1977 he joined the United States Foreign Service, where he presently holds the rank of Minister Counselor in its Senior Service. His domestic assignments have included the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (twice - he presently directs INR’s Office of Strategic, Proliferation, and Military Analysis), the Taiwan Coordination Staff, and the India desk.  Overseas, he has served in Hong Kong (twice), Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, the Taipei office of the American Institute in Taiwan, and, from 2002 to 2005, as Consul General in Shanghai.  Mr. Spelman is married to Nancy Latting Spelman, a psychologist, and they have two grown daughters.