 From 1986-88 he served as Deputy Director of the Department's Office of southern African Affairs.After six months of Romanian language training, Napper became Chargé d'affaires and later Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, Romania from 1989-91.He received the Department's Distinguished Honor Award for leadership of the Embassy during the December 1989 overthrow of the Ceausescu dictatorship.