| Office: | 26th Director General of the Foreign Service |
| Term Start: | May 25, 2006 |
| Term End: | June 27, 2007 |
| Preceded: | W. Robert Pearson |
| Succeeded: | Harry K. Thomas Jr. |
| Birth Date: | 7 December 1947 |
| Birth Place: | Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Education: | University of Southern California (BA) Central Michigan University (MA) |
| Spouse: | Jo Ann (nee Fuson) |
| Children: | 1 |
George McDade Staples (born December 7, 1947 Knoxville, Tennessee) was an American Career Foreign Service Officer who served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Rwanda (1999-2001), concurrent appointments as Ambassador to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea (2001-2004) and Director General of the Foreign Service (May 25, 2006-June 27, 2007),[1] Director of the Bureau of Human Resources at the U.S. Department of State and Political Advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) at NATO in Belgium. He now holds the largely ceremonial rank of Career Minister.[2]
When his parents separated, he moved with his mother and sister to Los Angeles and graduated from Susan Miller Dorsey High School. Staples received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Southern California (Major:Political Science; member of the Air Force ROTC) and an M.A. in Business from Central Michigan University. He and his wife, Jo Ann Fuson Staples, have one daughter, Catherine and consider their permanent home to be in Pineville, Kentucky.[3]