Matthew O’Brien has stepped into a new leadership role at the U.S. Department of State, serving as Deputy Assistant Director and Director of the Office of Protection within the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).
O’Brien brings more than 21 years of experience with the Department of State, having served as a Special Agent since 2005. Most recently, he was the Special Agent in Charge of the DSS Boston Field Office from September 2023 to February 2026. In that role, he oversaw investigative and protective operations in the region and also served as the Public Sector Chair of the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) Middle East–North Africa Regional Council. The MENA-RC functions as a public-private information-sharing forum, connecting the State Department’s security and law enforcement arm with U.S. businesses, NGOs, universities, and other institutions operating in the region.
Prior to leading the Boston Field Office, O’Brien served as Assistant Special Agent in Charge in Boston. His overseas assignments include Regional Security Officer in Havana, Cuba, and Deputy Regional Security Officer in Peshawar, Pakistan. He also completed tours as Regional Security Officer or Assistant Regional Security Officer in Sydney, Kabul, Bogotá, and Baghdad—posts that required coordinating security operations in both routine and high-threat environments.
Earlier in his career, O’Brien served with the Office of Mobile Security Deployments and as a Special Agent in New York.
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