Appointments | March 2019

Appointments
Donald A. Blome – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia

Donald A. Blome (SFS) of Illinois is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia. Blome is currently the chargé d’affairs at the Libya External Office in Tunis. Previously, Blome served as consul general at the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem. During more than 25 years in the Foreign Service, Blome has served in many senior positions relating to the Arabian Peninsula. Blome earned a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Michigan. He speaks Arabic.


Craig L. Cloud – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Botswana

Craig L. Cloud (SFS) of Florida is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Botswana. Cloud has been the management counselor of Embassy Kabul since 2017. Among his other senior leadership positions overseas, Cloud served as the minister counselor for management affairs at Embassy New Delhi and the deputy chief of mission of Embassy Mbabane. Cloud earned his B.S. from North Carolina State University, Raleigh. He speaks French and Spanish. 


Judith G. Garber – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus

Judith G. Garber (SFS) of Virginia is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus. Garber currently serves as principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. Previously, she served as ambassador to Latvia, deputy assistant secretary, office director and Foreign Service officer at five diplomatic posts overseas. Garber earned a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University. She speaks Spanish, Hebrew, Czech and Latvian.


Dennis B. Hankin – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mali

Dennis B. Hankin (SFS) of Minnesota is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mali. Most recently, Hankin was the consul general at the U.S. Consulate General in Sao Paulo. Previously, he served as deputy chief of mission at Embassy Khartoum and Embassy Nouakchott. Hankin has served in a variety of other leadership roles within the Department, including as consul general at Embassy Riyadh and deputy chief of mission at Embassy Maputo. Hankin received a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University and an M.A. from the National War College.


Dennis W. Hearne – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique

Dennis W. Hearne (SFS) of Virginia is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique. Hearne currently serves as the principal deputy high representative in the Office of the High Representative, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hearne previously served as deputy chief of mission at Embassy Kabul. Hearne earned a B.A. from Wake Forest University and an M.S. from the National War College. He speaks Portuguese and Croatian.


Simon Henshaw – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea

Simon Henshaw (SFS) of Massachusetts is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea. Henshaw currently serves as the executive secretary on the Cuba Accountability Review Board. Previously, Henshaw was the principal deputy assistant secretary and acting assistant secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. He has also served in other senior leadership positions throughout his three decades as a diplomat. Henshaw earned a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and an M.S. from the National War College. He speaks French, Spanish, basic Russian and basic Portuguese.


Christopher P. Henzel – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Yemen

Christopher P. Henzel (SFS) of Virginia is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Yemen. Henzel has been deputy chief of mission at Embassy Riyadh since 2016. Previously, he was deputy chief of mission at Embassy Manama. During his more than 30 years in the Foreign Service, Henzel has had numerous assignments working on Near East issues. He earned a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross and an M.S. from the National War College. He speaks Arabic, Spanish and German.


Michael S. Klecheski – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mongolia

Michael S. Klecheski (SFS) of New York is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mongolia. Klecheski has served in the Foreign Service for more than 30 years and serves as the deputy chief of mission at Embassy Manila. Previously, he served as deputy chief of mission at Embassy Astana and in a variety of other leadership roles for the Department. Klecheski earned a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University and an M.A. and MPhil from Columbia University. He speaks Russian, Polish, French and Tagalog.


Earle D. Litzenberger – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan

Earle D. Litzenberger (SFS) of California is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan. Litzenberger has served in the Foreign Service for more than 30 years and has been a senior advisor in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs since 2018. Previously, he served as a senior fellow under the German Marshall Fund and as the deputy chief of mission in Belgium, Serbia and Kyrgyzstan. He has also served in many other leadership roles at the Department. Litzenberger earned a B.A. from Middlebury College and an M.S. from the U.S. Army War College Distance Learning Program. He speaks French, Russian, Serbian and Bulgarian.


Sarah-Ann Lynch – U.S. Ambassador to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana

Sarah-Ann Lynch (SFS) of Maryland is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. Since 2015, Lynch has been senior deputy assistant administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. Previously, Lynch was the USAID mission director in Iraq and the director of USAID’s Office of Iraq and Arabian Peninsula Affairs. She has also served in other leadership roles at USAID. Ms. Lynch earned a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College, an M.A.L.D.from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University and an M.S. from the National War College. She speaks Arabic, French and Spanish.


Patricia Mahoney – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Benin

Patricia Mahoney (SFS) of Virginia is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Benin. She currently serves as acting deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Previously, Mahoney served as the office director in the Office of Mainland Southeast Asia. She earned a B.A. from Harvard University, an M.A. from the University of Hawaii and an M.S. from the National War College. Mahoney speaks French, Thai, Nepali and Lao.


Matthew J. Matthews – U.S. Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam

Matthew J. Matthews (SFS) of Virginia is the new U.S. Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam. Matthews is currently the deputy assistant secretary for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands and, concurrently, the senior official for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). He has held numerous other leadership roles during his more than 30 years in the Foreign Service. Matthews received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon and a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He speaks Mandarin. 


Kyle McCarter – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kenya

Kyle McCarter of Illinois is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kenya. McCarter is a businessman and politician. McCarter has been a state senator in the Illinois General Assembly in Lebanon, Ill. since 2009. Previously, he served as a field auditor and as the international director of Each One Feed One. McCarter earned a B.S. at Oral Roberts University. He speaks basic Swahili.


William H. Moser – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kazakhstan

William H. Moser (SFS) of North Carolina is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kazakhstan. He is currently acting director of the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations. Moser is a former ambassador to the U.S. Embassy in Moldova. A diplomat for more than 30 years, Moser has served the Department in multiple roles. Moser earned a B.A. at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and studied at Universitaet zu Koeln in Germany. Moser speaks German and Russian.


Eric G. Nelson – U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina

Eric G. Nelson (SFS) of Texas is the new U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nelson currently serves as a senior advisor in the Office of the Secretary of State. A diplomat since 1991, Nelson previously served as deputy executive secretary and director of the Executive Office of the Executive Secretariat, as well as director of the Office of eDiplomacy. He earned a B.S.Ch.E. from Rice University and an M.B.A. from the University of Texas, Austin. He speaks Spanish, German and Italian.


Richard C. Paschall III – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of The Gambia

Richard C. Paschall III (SFS) of North Carolina is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of The Gambia. He has served as the deputy coordinator for the Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism since 2016. Previously, Paschall served as director in the Office of Central African Affairs. Paschall earned his B.A. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and an M.S. from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resources Strategy at the National Defense University. He speaks French and Arabic. 


Michael P. Pelletier – U.S. Ambassador to Madagascar and the Union of the Comoros

Michael P. Pelletier (SFS) of Maine is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Madagascar and, concurrently, the new U.S. Ambassador to the Union of the Comoros. Pelletier currently serves as dean of the School of Professional and Area Studies at the Foreign Service Institute. Pelletier has served in the Foreign Service for more than 30 years, including as deputy chief of mission at Embassy New Delhi, deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs and director of the Arabic Media Hub. Pelletier earned a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University, a certificat d’etudes politiques from Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris, and an M.I.A. from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. He speaks French and Arabic.


Carol Z. Perez – Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources

Carol Z. Perez (SFS) of Virginia is the new Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources. Perez has served as the ambassador to Chile since 2016. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1987, Perez has previously served as principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Human Resources and also as principal deputy assistant secretary and deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Perez has held positions in the Office of the Under Secretary for Management, the Executive Secretariat and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. She has also served as consul general in Milan and Spain. Perez received a B.A. from Hiram College and an M.A. from the George Washington University. She speaks Spanish and Italian. 


John M. Pommersheim – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Tajikistan

John M. Pommersheim (SFS) of Florida is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Tajikistan. Pommersheim has served as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Astana since 2015. During his 28-year career in the Foreign Service, Pommersheim has served in a variety of leadership roles, including as director of the Office of South Caucasus Affairs and Regional Conflicts, as deputy political counselor at Embassy Tokyo and as an Una Chapman Cox Fellow. Pommersheim earned a B.A. from Bucknell University and an M.A. from Columbia University. He speaks Russian, Chinese, Japanese, German, basic French and basic Kazakh.


Susan N. Stevenson – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea

Susan N. Stevenson (SFS) of Washington is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Stevenson has served as the principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Public Affairs since 2016. Among multiple other senior leadership roles, she previously served as the Bureau’s acting assistant secretary and as consul general and principal officer of the U.S. Consulate General, Chiang Mai. She earned both a B.S. and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. Stevenson speaks Mandarin, French, Spanish and Thai.


Eric W. Stromayer – U.S. Ambassador to the Togolese Republic

Eric W. Stromayer (SFS) of Virginia is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Togolese Republic. He has served as acting deputy assistant secretary for East Africa and the Sudans in the Bureau of African Affairs since 2017. He has served for 29 years in the Foreign Service, including as charge d’affaires a.i. in Madagascar and executive director of the Bureau of African Affairs. Stromayer earned a B.A. from Northwestern University and an M.A. from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He speaks French, Italian, Hungarian, Wolof, Haitian Creole and some Spanish.


Lucy Tamlyn – U.S. Ambassador to the Central African Republic

Lucy Tamlyn (SFS) of New York is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Central African Republic. Tamlyn has served as the Ambassador to the Republic of Benin since 2015. A diplomat for 36 years, she has held many other leadership roles at the Department, including at the U.S. Missions to the United Nations and as deputy chief of mission in Portugal and in Chad. She earned a B.A. from St. John’s College and an M.A from Columbia University School of International Affairs. She speaks French and Portuguese. 


Lynne M. Tracy – U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia

Lynne M. Tracy (SFS) of Ohio is the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia. She has served as the senior advisor for Russia in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs since 2017. Previously, among other prominent leadership roles at the Department, Tracy served as deputy chief of mission at Embassy Moscow. Tracy earned a B.A. from the University of Georgia and a J.D. from the University of Akron. She speaks Russian. 

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