Masilingi attended a UN conference on biodiversity in 1992 and was one of the representatives from smaller nations who accused the U.S. of blocking their proposals to protect the environment. He was brought into the government in 1998 as the minister for good governance, where he investigated corruption and fraud in government and business. Masilingi was named his country’s first ambassador to the Netherlands in 2013, where he served until assuming the post in Washington.   read more

While running Scotiabank’s operations in Belize, Andrews was involved in several charities benefiting the country’s children. In 2007, he was named Canada’s honorary consul in Belize. In 2014, Andrews was honored by Queen Elizabeth II as a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to community and banking. His nephew, Patrick Jason Andrews, is also involved in the country’s politics but as a senator in the rival Peoples United Party, and was a television host.   read more

Çitaku was made Kosovo’s minister of European Integration in 2010 and worked on settling differences with Serbia. She also worked to improve women’s rights in her country and increase their role in government. In 2014, she came to the U.S. to be Kosovo’s consul general in New York. There, she worked to get Kosovo membership in the U.N. Despite her long career, Çitaku is as likely to show up in her country’s gossip magazines as newspapers because of her striking appearance.   read more

Mohib was responsible for the creation of community service programming to recognize the achievements of Afghan women, and to support special-needs orphans living in Kabul. He worked for the American University of Afghanistan, both as its IT director and a teacher of IT classes. He also served in President Ghani’s campaign as his social media “guru” and subsequently as his deputy chief of staff. Mohib and his wife Lael have written articles together on Afghan political issues.   read more

Part of Lose’s duties since arriving in the U.S. includes explaining Danish policies mentioned in the course of the U.S. presidential campaign. He commented on Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders’ statement that he would like to see the U.S. economy be more like Denmark’s. “It goes without saying, of course without interfering in the U.S. political debate, that we welcome any positive mention of Denmark,” Lose said. “Denmark has a lot to offer in terms of how we organize our society.”   read more

Manes was principal officer in the consulate in Azores, where she helped negotiate the U.S. military presence in those islands. She then was named cultural affairs officer in an embassy in Brazil, where she helped develop an English teaching strategy in the run-up to the World Cup and Olympic Games. She returned to Washington in 2010 as staff director in the Office of Policy, Planning and Resources for Public Affairs. In 2012, she served a tour as counselor for public affairs in Afghanistan.   read more

In 2012, McKean went to work at the State Dept. as senior advisor to then-Secretary Hillary Clinton for the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review. The review is a joint effort of the State Dept. and U.S. Agency for International Development that identifies global trends that could result in opportunities or threats. Later that year, McKean reunited with John Kerry, by this time Secretary of State, as his Director of Policy Planning, where he served until his nomination as Ambassador.   read more

While at Gallatin, in 2010 Kotek was named staff director of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, a group studying nuclear waste disposal. He was criticized by some in the nuclear community for recommending Mary Woollen, executive director of Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free, to serve on the panel. Kotek returned to the federal government in January 2015 as principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Nuclear Energy, a post he held until being made acting director.   read more

The Senate has confirmed an Air Force general to be the first female officer to lead one of the military’s warfighting commands. By voice vote late Thursday, the Senate approved Gen. Lori Robinson to be commander of U.S. Northern Command. The command is responsible for preventing attacks against the United States.   read more

Before joining the State Dept in 1990, Sterling worked in New York City as a liaison officer in the mayor’s office to the U.N. and consular corps. His first Foreign Service posting was in Peru. In 1993, Sterling was sent to Belgium, but returned to the U.S. in 1995 to be a desk officer for Central Asian affairs, a region he would focus on through much of his career. Sterling was assigned in 1998 as a political officer in Kazakhstan, then in 2001 took a similar post in Tel Aviv, Israel.   read more

Before joining the Foreign Ministry, he was a journalist at the newspaper La Nation in Djibouti. Doualeh was made ambassador to Switzerland, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations agencies based in Geneva in 2006, posts he held until coming to Washington. A music enthusiast, Doualeh is a founding member of the cultural association ADAC, longtime organizer of "The Fest'horn," the largest music festival dedicated to peace in the Horn of Africa.   read more

In 2005, Basáñez became chief pollster and advisor to state of Mexico then-governor del Mazo. More recently, Basáñez has been professor of values, culture and development at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy. When Basáñez was appointed ambassador, it created some controversy among some who pointed out he had no diplomatic experience and that it was his close association with del Mazo, a cousin of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, that accounted for his appointment.   read more

Abdullah, who is seen as a somewhat progressive free-market advocate, was named governor of SAGIA in 2000. When he resigned from the agency in 2004, it was said to be due to his frustration with government bureaucracy, the slow pace of reforms and privatization in the country, and his inability to bring in enough foreign investment. However, under Abdullah’s governorship at SAGIA, close to 2,000 foreign business licenses were issued, holding a total value of about $15 billion.   read more

Awad went to Sudan to work for the United Nations on peacekeeping missions for nearly 10 years, serving in Abyei, Kaduqli and Darfur. In 2014, Awad was in the mix to become Somalia’s next prime minister, but the office went to his predecessor in Washington, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, who was ambassador to the United States for a few months that year. The following year, Awad was appointed to set up the embassy.   read more

Reda was deputy chief of mission in Berlin in 2004 when then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak came to Germany for back surgery and Reda dealt with the publicity surrounding that. Reda assumed a very sensitive assignment in 2008 when he was named ambassador to Israel. He was recalled in 2011 by his government to protest the deaths of three Egyptian soldiers killed in a shootout involving Israeli troops. He did return to Tel Aviv to complete his term, however.   read more

In March 2011, Marciel had to deal with the fallout from the WikiLeaks release of State Department cables that accused Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of corruption and abuse of power, including using the national intelligence service to spy on his political rivals. He also helped Boeing sell $23 billion worth of planes to an Indonesian airline.   read more