On July 29, 2014, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the nomination of Brent Hartley, a career Foreign Service officer, to be the next U.S. ambassador to Slovenia. Hartley’s nomination awaits approval by the full Senate.

Hartley was born in Medford, Oregon, where his father, Jack, ran a hardware store. Hartley graduated from Medford High School in 1973 and went on to attend Hampshire College, earning a Bachelor of Science in U.S. history and international relations. During his senior year he interned at the State Department. He later earned an M.S. in strategic studies from the National War College.

He joined the Foreign Service in 1981 and his first overseas assignment came the following year in Cairo, Egypt, serving there for two years. Other early assignments were desk officer for the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe (the Helsinki Commission), policy analyst in the Bureau of Personnel, staff assistant in the Bureau of European Affairs and political officer in the Bureau of Egyptian Affairs.

In 1989, Hartley was named political and military officer at the U.S. Embassy in Rome. He followed that with assignments as Cyprus desk officer and deputy political advisor at the U.S. mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Hartley was named director for regional affairs in the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism in 2003. Two years later, he took over as senior advisor for international relations at the National Counterterrorism Center.

In 2006, Hartley was named deputy director for European Regional Security Affairs. The following year he began a tour in Kabul, Afghanistan, as a counselor for military and political affairs at the U.S. Embassy. Hartley was brought home in 2008 to be director of the State Department’s Office of Pakistan Affairs.

In 2010 he was made director for European Security and Political Affairs and in 2012 Hartley was named deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs with responsibility for Nordic, Baltic and Central European countries. Some of his duties there have entailed testifying to Congress on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Hungarian anti-Semitism and anti-Romani trends.

Hartley and his wife, attorney Elizabeth Dickinson, have two children, Ella and Charlie.

-Steve Straehley

To Learn More:

Away From Home for the Holidays (by Paul Fattig, Medford Mail Tribune)

Official Biography

Testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs (pdf)

State Department Cables 2004-2008 (WikiLeaks)