Oliver Mains is a career member of the U.S. Foreign Service. He served most recently as Turkey desk officer for political-military affairs, where he led the desk's work on defense trade, basing, and countering Russian malign influence. He previously coordinated U.S. government approaches to interethnic reconciliation in Kosovo and South Sudan, and worked to protect operating space for NGOs implementing $500 million of U.S. assistance in Pakistan. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he was a program associate at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and an Afghanistan field researcher for the Centre for International Governance Innovation. He holds an M.A. in Conflict, Security, and Development from King's College London and a B.A./B.M. in History and Clarinet Performance from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music.