The smallest country on mainland Africa will soon have a new ambassador from the United States. President Barack Obama on March 5 nominated Edward M. “Ned” Alford to be next ambassador to The Gambia. He replaces Pamela White who had served as ambassador to The Gambia since September 2010 and now heads to Haiti, where her experience in development ought to benefit that earthquake ravaged nation.

 

Born in 1952, Ned Alford earned a B.A. in Politics and German at Washington and Lee University in 1977, having served three years in the U.S. Army from 1973 to 1976, including duty as a German interpreter in Augsburg, Germany, in 1975-7196.

 

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor, Alford joined the Foreign Service in December 1978. Early overseas postings included service as a consular officer in Manama, Bahrain; information systems officer at the embassy in Nairobi, Kenya; and management officer in Leningrad, Russia; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Windhoek, Namibia. Alford also served as a general services officer at the embassies in Rome, Italy; and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Back to Russia for a second time, Alford served as management minister counselor in Moscow, before taking similar postings back-to-back, as management counselor at the embassies in Islamabad, Pakistan; and Baghdad, Iraq.

 

In Washington, Alford’s State Department assignments have included post management officer for East Africa; senior advisor to the Under Secretary for Management; and executive director of the Bureaus of South Central Asian and Near East Asia Affairs. Alford was executive assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Management until July 2009, when he was named consul general at the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, of which he assumed charge on August 19, 2009.

 

Ned Alford is married to Sigrid Alford. They have three adult children: Angela, Sylvia, and Christopher.

-Matt Bewig