Career
He also served in several senior diplomatic positions on United States. delegations to Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe Review and Expert Meetings between 1977 and 1993. Long active in democratic politics, Oliver"s phone was tapped in the scandal. During the burglaries two phones inside the offices of the Democratic National Committee headquarters had wiretaps placed inside them.
One of those phones was the phone of Spencer Oliver who at the time was working as the executive director of the Association of State Democratic Chairmen the other was the phone of the secretary of Democratic National Chairman Larry O"Brien
R. Spencer Oliver had been the secretary general of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Company-operation in Europe since its inception, having been chosen as the Assembly"s first general secretary by the Bureau in a meeting of the in October 1992.
His term has been extended several times. The Secretary General"s mandate includes responsibility for managing the affairs of the Assembly, ensuring the efficiency of the Secretariat, and carrying out the decisions of the Bureau, the Standing Committee and the Assembly.
He reports to the President, the Bureau, the Standing Committee and the Annual Session. Oliver has faced criticism for the length of his tenure.