Angola’s ambassador to the United States, Josefina Pitra Diakité, took up her post in March 2007. She earned a law degree from Agostinho Neto University in Luanda, Angola. She began her professional career in the Secretariat of State for Cooperation, rising to become the national director of technical assistance before moving to the Ministry of External Affairs. She has spent the last decade working on issues related to Europe and North America. Pitra Diakité came to the United States from Sweden, where she served as Angola’s ambassador to Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland for seven years. She is the third Angolan Ambassador to the United States since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1993.