Embassy Directory 2022 Updated March 2023v2

March 2023 v2

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

I am happy to present to you the first-ever comprehensive directory of all 180+ foreign embassies in Washington, DC, including standardized biographies of nearly all ambassadors accredited to the United States.

Since 1994, The Washington Diplomat proudly published the flagship newspaper of the DC diplomatic community. Although the pandemic forced us to permanently suspend our print version in early 2020, we expanded coverage of this community on our website and via our weekly digital edition. In addition, we are planning more magazine products like the publication you now hold in your hands.

Before COVID, our calendar was packed with live events. In 2018 and 2019, for example, we hosted receptions prior to the White House Correspondents Association Dinners. In addition, we organized many conferences on healthcare and education, and on helping countries better promote themselves. I’m happy to report that our conference business is back on track. We have also revived our popular monthly Ambassador Insider Series networking events, and we’re working with outside companies and organizations to help develop and manage their events. Please contact us if you are interested in working with our company to organize a special event.

Included in this magazine is a fascinating history of Embassy Row, a guide to diplomatic protocol, a look at where diplomats live from a real-estate perspective — and even a tour of some of Washington’s most famous statues.

I urge you to help us by emailing us with any corrections or errors you may see. A directory this comprehensive — and one that covers so many embassies — is bound to have errors. For this reason, we will maintain a page on our website for corrections and updates.

I hope you enjoy this publication, and that it will serve as a useful source for information about our dynamic and ever-growing diplomatic community.

Respectfully,

Victor Shiblie Publisher/Editor-in-Chief The Washington Diplomat

EMBASSY ROW: THEN AND NOW

By Deryl Davis

Visitors to Washington, DC, cannot help but be struck by the beauty and grandeur of the Capitol, the White House and the city’s great monuments. But beyond these national symbols stand others that remind us of the world outside our borders. These are the 180+ foreign chanceries and residences that have collectively come to be known as “Embassy Row,” centered on the segment of Massachusetts Avenue that runs northwest from Dupont Circle to just beyond the US Naval Observatory.

When President John Adams and his wife, Abigail, arrived in Washington in November 1800, they found a small city still under construction, with few amenities and streets primarily composed of mud. Britain’s minister (as ambassadors were then known), had already departed, judging the new capital unsuitable. Of the other three countries with representation in the young country, only Spain had a minister in Washington. His French and Dutch colleagues came later, loathe to leave better quarters in Philadelphia and New York. As Hope Ridings Miller observes in Embassy Row: The Life and Times of Diplomatic Washington, foreign diplomats in the early 19th century regarded Washington as a “hardship post” where housing, food and entertainment were inadequate and the summers insufferable. “In general,” Miller writes, “’civilized’ living according to European standards was nonexistent.” Many foreign ministers could not wait to be called home.

Foreign diplomats have been present in Washington almost from the city’s beginning. Created out of the Residence Act of 1790 and initially designed by French architect Pierre L’Enfant in 1791, Washington did not welcome Congress or the US president for another nine years.

As the decades rolled by, however, more nations sent ministers to the US capital, recognizing the young republic’s growing power and influence. Still, many diplomats considered Washington a provincial and unprepossessing place, even when the Civil War brought an influx of over 100,000 inhabitants and a boom in construction. The English writer Anthony Trollope, who visited Washington during these years, described the city as “most ungainly and most unsatisfactory,” as well as “most presumptuous in its pretentions.” Whether or not Trollope spoke with the prejudicial leanings of a former colonizer, he had a particular critique of the grand boulevard that would become synonymous with Embassy Row, calling Massachusetts Avenue “beyond the fields, in an uncultivated, undrained wilderness.”

Photo: Austin Tolchin

These buildings, standing on international soil, are eloquent, architecturally engaging reminders that Washington is also a city of diverse peoples, cultures, languages and traditions.

While other streets in the nation’s capital, closer to the White House or the Capitol itself, might be full when the legislature was in session, Trollope added caustically that “I do not think … Congress makes much difference to Massachusetts Avenue.”

Arguably, the first diplomatic enclave embodying the modern idea of an “Embassy Row” appeared on 16th Street NW, around Meridian Hill, in the early 1900s. This followed the country’s first formal acceptance of foreign ambassadors, rather than the lower-ranking ministers, in the 1890s. Ambassadors could meet directly with the president and were expected, in turn, to host US diplomats in their Washington homes and chanceries.

In 1889, only two foreign governments—the British and the German—owned their own chanceries or embassies. That soon changed with the establishment of formal ambassadorial relations and the vision of one powerful woman, Mary Foote Henderson, wife of Missouri Sen. John B. Henderson, who co-authored the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery.

Retiring to Washington after Henderson’s political career, the husband and wife built a large mansion of Seneca sandstone on Meridian Hill in 1888, which they called “Boundary Castle.” Looking downhill two miles to the White House, just beyond the city’s boundary line (Florida Avenue), Mary Foote Henderson envisioned first a new location for the executive mansion, and when that was rejected, an exclusive enclave for the artists, diplomats and magnates who would be her neighbors.

Partially unpaved before 1900, 16th Street was to be the anchor of this special enclave, which Henderson described as “something like the Champs Elysees … central, straight, broad and long … On the way down its seven-mile length to the portals of the White House each section of the thoroughfare will be a dream of beauty: long, impressive vistas; beautiful villas, artistic homes—not only for American citizens, but [for] diplomats.”

Between 1906 and the stock market crash of 1929, Henderson and her favorite architect, George Oakley Totten Jr., built nearly a dozen mansions on and around Meridian Hill for use as foreign embassies or diplomatic missions. Although Henderson never realized her dream of relocating the presidential mansion to a more expansive site on Meridian Hill, the area did become a hub for diplomats, artists, industrialists and ambitious socialites like herself. Embassies continued to relocate there, so that by the 1930s, the best purpose-built sites had been taken.

Henderson’s Castle in Washington, DC

General view northwest down 16th Street NW from Meridian Hill Park in the 2300 block. Includes the French Embassy, “Pink Palace”. Circa 1915-1925.

Foreign legations seeking to expand or to acquire their first home began to look elsewhere. For many, Massachusetts Avenue offered the perfect alternative.

By the end of the 19th century, Massachusetts Avenue north of Dupont Circle had undergone an almost magical transformation from Trollope’s “uncultivated, undrained wilderness” into a setting for the grand mansions of Gilded Age magnates. Drawn by the power and allure of the nation’s capital, these captains of industry built homes appropriate to their status as the nouveau riche. Among the first to claim a spot along “Millionaire’s Row”—as Massachusetts Avenue came to be know—was Irishman Thomas Walsh, who made his fortune in the gold and silver mines of Colorado. Walsh’s stunning beaux arts mansion at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue, just off Dupont Circle, was completed in 1903. His $835,000 dream house boasted more than 50 rooms and was reputedly the most expensive private residence ever built in Washington. Upon Walsh’s death in 1910, the elegant mansion passed to his daughter and, ultimately, to the government of Indonesia, which has used it as an embassy since 1952.

Other wealthy denizens employed Totten to design their own beaux arts mansions nearby. These include 2315 Massachusetts Avenue and 1606 23rd Street NW. Yet many of these magnates lost their fortunes in the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression that followed. No longer able to afford such lavish accommodations, they or their heirs sold their large, sumptuous residences, and they gradually became embassies.

Eventually, the moniker “Millionaire’s Row” gave way to the more familiar “Embassy Row” we know today.

Yet not all foreign governments chose to locate their emissaries in pre-existing buildings, however magnificent. In the late 1920s, the British government decided to build its own embassy compound beside the US Naval Observatory. Completed in 1931 to a stately country house design by British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, the residence and original chancery formed the first purposebuilt diplomatic compound on the new Embassy Row. In late 1931, Norway and Japan followed suit, and by the early 1960s, dozens of embassies—many strikingly resonant of distinct national identities and cultures—had sprouted along Massachusetts Avenue and its environs. The rapid expansion of chanceries and embassies from 16th Street to Massachusetts Avenue and beyond was not without its consequences. Affordable space was scarce, and concerns arose over the location of multiple foreign missions within quiet residential neighborhoods. In the late 1960s, the State Department responded by creating the city’s first dedicated diplomatic enclave: the 47-acre International Chancery Center (ICC) in northwest Washington. Today, the ICC is home to 16 diplomatic missions including the nearly 40,000-sq-foot Chinese Embassy, designed by renowned architect I. M. Pei.

Yet within half a century, Washington would again face a scarcity of space for the growing foreign diplomatic corps. A possible solution arose in 2011, when the 113-acre Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Georgia Avenue closed, and the State Department acquired 32 acres of that site for use as a future diplomatic enclave. Known as the Foreign Missions Center, it will eventually host up to 15 embassies and as many as 2,000 staffers, though at press time, the Embassy of Libya is the only active diplomatic mission on site. 

Former British Embassy on the northwest corner of Connecticut Avenue and N Street NW. Circa 1915

DIPLOMATIC PROTOCOL

By Pamela Eyring

Pandemic restrictions are falling away and in-person events are returning. Are you ready to mix and mingle? Here is some helpful protocol guidance to follow when attending diplomatic and government events.

Protocol has been around since cave-dwelling days, when he who was the mightiest made the rules. Defined as a code of strict adherence to correct etiquette and precedence, the rules of protocol are recognizable during military events, diplomatic meetings and visits of foreign delegations. Protocol reduces chaos and confusion while help people conduct business and build relationships.

Protocol is particularly useful when hosting meetings, arranging seating or positioning flags, presenting gifts, and officiating at ceremonies. However, protocol is not limited to government organizations. Businesses, universities, museums, hotels, airlines and serviceoriented groups use protocol. Even virtual meetings and events dictate the need for protocol.

Titles and forms of address

Around Washington, DC, the standard reference resource for how to address official correspondence is The Protocol School of Washington’s book, Honor & Respect: The Official Guide to Names, Titles and Forms of Address by Robert Hickey – one of PSOW’s trainers. It is used universally in government offices and for diplomatic events. It includes forms of address in English for officials around the world and provides guidelines for invitations, introductions, place cards, and more. It’s available on Amazon.

Before covering the forms of address useful in Washington – there is one rule to highlight. Elected and many high appointed US officials are addressed as “The Honorable (full name).” Remember that “The Honorable” is only used in writing. In conversation or a salutation switch to the appropriate honorific: “Mr./Ms./ Dr./Representative/Senator/Judge + (their surname).”

At the White House

The President is addressed by his office, without using his name. In official correspondence use “The President, The White House, …” In conversation or a salutation use “Mr. President” or, one day, “Madam President.”

The Vice President is addressed in the same way. His or her name is not used in direct address. In official correspondence use “The Vice President, Old Executive Office Building, …” In conversation or a salutation use “Mr./Madam Vice President.”

Senior officials and guests receive special courtesies based on their rank, title or hierarchy. The higher the rank, the more courtesies they receive. Precedence determines who speaks first, who receives the best seat, and where their country’s flag is placed.

Many high advisors to the President are addressed in writing on official correspondence as “The Honorable (full name), (office held), ….” And in conversation or a salutation with whatever honorific to which they are normally entitled: Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr. (name). Unfortunately, there is no official list circulated with who is, and who is not, in this category. But those addressed as “The Honorable (full name)” typically

While event and meeting managers focus on producing an event, protocol professionals focus on the requirements for high-level guests, dignitaries, and VIPs.

Photos: The Protocol School of Washington

From left, Saeed Al-Salkhadi, PSOW MENA managing director; PSOW President Pamela Eyring; Shihab Al Faheem, UAE’s ambassador to Japan; Mohammed Al Junaibi, chairman of the Abu Dhabi-based Federal Protocol and Strategic Narrative Authority; and Saif Al Rashedi, director of protocol and operations at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Co.

include those designated as (1) assistant to the President, (2) special assistant to the President, and (3) counselor to the President.

Otherwise, White House staff members are addressed in writing and conversation as Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr. (name).

At the State Department

The Secretary of State is addressed in official correspondence as “The Honorable (full name), Secretary of State, …” and in conversation or a salutation as “Mr./ Madame Secretary.” This pattern is used by all the secretaries in the cabinet as well as the secretaries of the armed forces. The formula is: “The Honorable (full name), Secretary of (name of department).”

Assistant secretaries, deputy assistant secretaries, deputy secretaries and undersecretaries of executive departments, including the Department of State, are addressed in official correspondence as “The Honorable (full name), (full title of position held), …” and in conversation or a salutation as “Mr./Mrs./ Ms./Dr. (name).” Don’t address them as “Mr./Madam Secretary.” This is the form of address of their boss!

Otherwise, staff at the Department of State is “Mr./Mrs./ Ms./Dr. (full name), …” in official correspondence and “Mr./ Mrs./Ms./Dr. (surname)” in conversation or a salutation.

On Capitol Hill

Senators are addressed in writing on official correspondence as “The Honorable (full name), …” and in conversation or a salutation as “Senator (name).”

Members of the House of Representatives are addressed in writing on official correspondence as “The Honorable (full name), …” In conversation or a salutation, the traditional and formal honorifics for these officials are Mr./Ms. But in contemporary use, many members prefer “Representative (name),” “Congressman (name),” or “Congresswoman (name)” in conversation or a salutation. It is correct to use these, too.

Staff members for the House and Senate are “Mr./ Mrs./Ms./Dr. (full name), …” in official correspondence and “Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr. (surname)” in conversation or a salutation. On Capitol Hill only the elected officials – the senators and members of the House of Representatives – are “The Honorable (full name).

At embassies

Ambassadors to the United States are addressed in writing on official correspondence using the standard diplomatic form of address: “His/Her Excellency (full name), …”. In conversation or a salutation or address

as “Your Excellency,” Less formally “Ambassador” or “Mr./Madam Ambassador.”

Only currently accredited ambassadors, more specifically ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary, are “Your Excellency” based on their ambassadorship. Former ambassadors are addressed in writing on official correspondence as “Ambassador (full name)” (Note: no ‘Your Excellency”) and in conversation or a salutation address as “Ambassador (surname)” or simply “Ambassador.”

An interesting note is that US citizens address their US ambassadors to other countries as “The Honorable (full name), …. This correctly applies the same formula used by US citizens when addressing their high-ranking appointed and elected US. officials. But citizens of other countries address US ambassadors as “His /Her Excellency (full name), …” in the same style used worldwide when addressing foreign ambassadors.

A few ministers plenipotentiary are also addressed as “Your Excellency,” but those are the exception. As a rule, all other diplomats at an embassy—minister counselors; all types of chargés d’affaires; counselors; attachés; first, second and third secretaries; and all types of consuls—are “Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr. (full name)” based on their diplomatic role. Only the country’s currently accredited ambassador is “His/Her/Your Excellency.”

From left: Saeed Al-Salkhadi, PSOW MENA managing director; PSOW President Pamela Eyring; and Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, ruler of the emirate of Fujairah, UAE, and member of the Supreme Council.

Dinner and reception protocol is highly regarded in the nation’s capital, and this year attending events might feel awkward at first as we emerge from the fog of COVID-19. Here are some tips to feel confident and build professional relationships when attending special events.

The first step is to prepare. The invitation should tell you who’s invited (just you, or you and a guest), who is hosting the event, if there’s a guest of honor, when and how to respond to the invitation and what level of attire to wear, along with the date and time of the event.

If it’s a private event with security measures in place, bring all necessary credentials or identification for entry as requested. If you have dietary restrictions, inform the host/organizer ahead of time Be sure to snack on something before arriving because it’s hard to eat while engaged in conversation.

Receiving lines are common before a formal dinner or at a reception with more than 50 guests. Most likely, you will be expected to introduce yourself to the host and guest of honor, along with all others in the receiving line. Greet the host and say your first and last name clearly. You may add your title and organization (and country if living abroad). For example, “Good evening, Ambassador Al Otaiba. My name is Pamela Eyring and I am president of the Protocol School of Washington. Thank you for the kind invitation to join you in celebration of the UAE National Day.”

Keep the conversation positive and focus on appropriate topics such as travel, vacations, entertainment, popular

TV shows, new technology or other lighthearted small talk. Steer away from politics, money, religion and other sensitive topics when first meeting other guests.

Dining etiquette is crucial to building relationships.

In formal dining, you’ll receive a take-in card directing you to a certain table. At the table, there could be a place card with your name identifying your seat. Do not switch tables or place cards, or you will breach protocol. When seated, wait for the hosts to begin the dinner before you start eating. When they take their napkin, you may do the same. To maneuver a tight place setting, think “BMW” – B is for Bread, which is located on your left; M is for Meal, which is in the middle; and W is for Water or Wine identifying your glassware on your right side. This will help you avoid eating someone else’s roll.

Most importantly, have a good time and smile. 

Pamela Eyring is president and owner of the Protocol School of Washington. Accredited by ACCET, her school offers training on international protocol, business etiquette and communications skills. With over 30 years of government and private-sector experience, Eyring is a global thought leader in the etiquette and protocol industry. Eyring heads PSOW operations in Washington, DC; Columbia, South Carolina; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

PSOW President Pamela Eyring (center front) with the official party and graduating class of the International Protocol Manager Training program held in March 2019 in the United Arab Emirates.

DIPLOMATIC NEIGHBORHOODS

By Stephanie Kanowitz

A stretch of Massachusetts Avenue NW between 18th and 35th streets is called Embassy Row because it’s home to almost 50 of Washington’s 180+ embassies. But ambassadors and diplomats live throughout the District, as well as the Maryland and Virginia suburbs.

“There are many factors that each embassy, each ambassador and each staff member takes into account as they look for property,” said Christie-Anne Weiss, senior vice president and global adviser at TTR Sotheby’s International Realty. “It’s individualized by country and the needs of the particular minister or staff member who’s in the market seeking the residence.”

Generally speaking, embassies tend to cluster in certain neighborhoods because of their stature. “There’s always prestige associated with residences that are the most expensive in any given area,” Weiss said. “That always attracts embassies and ambassadors.”

Still, as those neighborhoods fill up, it’s getting harder for countries to find locations that meet their needs, which often include many rooms and large entertaining spaces.

“There’s definitely a shortage for large embassies to buy today,” said Cynthia Howar, an agent with Washington Fine Properties. She said that six years ago, the Embassy of Kuwait spent $18 million on a house in Forest Hills “because it was very large and it suited their needs.” Yet that neighborhood has not been especially popular for ambassadors, she added.

Here’s a look at some of the most sought-after neighborhoods.

Massachusetts Avenue Heights

Where it is: Massachusetts Avenue Heights is bounded to the north by Woodley Road, to the southwest by Massachusetts Avenue, to the east by 34th Street NW, and to the west by Wisconsin Avenue.

The biggest driver of where members of the diplomatic community settle is location. Embassies and ambassadors’ residences are most commonly found on Embassy Row and in the adjacent Massachusetts Heights and Kalorama neighborhoods of DC.

“I think the reason why Mass Avenue Heights and Kalorama have been in such demand for residences is that they’re easy to get to, there’s parking and a lot of the houses there are large,” said Howar, who sold a residence on nearby Woodland Drive to the Kingdom of Morocco for $14 million in 2017.

Comprised largely of the National Cathedral, the neighborhood bumps up to the US Vice President’s residence and is home to the embassies of Cabo Verde, Iraq, Nepal and Norway. The Embassies of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Finland sit just across 34th Street and Massachusetts Avenue, respectively.

Housing prices have increased almost 45% since last year, according to Redfin, with the median listing price at $2.7 million.

The neighborhood appeals to diplomats with young children because within its borders is Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary for kids in pre-K through third grade. Other private-school options include Acton Academy and the St. Albans School, whose alumni include former Vice President Al Gore and astronaut Michael Collins. Three public elementary, two middle and one high school serve the area and all have GreatSchools ratings of 8 out 10.

Nearby is the British International School of Washington, which Howar said is often a draw for diplomats. Its student body represents more than 60 nationalities, and it has a second campus in another sought-after neighborhood: Georgetown.

Although eateries and entertainment are scant here, the shops, restaurants and nightlife of Georgetown are a straight shot south on Wisconsin Avenue NW.

Although not as spectacular as Rome’s Spanish Steps, DC’s version dates to 1911 and was “intended to provide a pedestrian link between S Street and Decatur Place on a route thought too steep for vehicles, according to The Cultural Landscape Foundation.

Also not as awe-inspiring as the original is the Miniature Statue of Liberty on Kalorama Road NW, near Ukraine House and the embassies of Algeria, Benin and Syria.

Kalorama caters to diplomats with children, too. It’s home to the School Without Walls High School, the toprated public high school in DC, according to Niche, and the Oyster-Adams Bilingual School is on the other side of Connecticut Avenue.

Kalorama

Where it is: The upscale neighborhood is bordered by Connecticut Avenue NW on the east, Rock Creek Park on the West, Kalorama Circle to the north and Q Street to the south.

If it’s good enough for the Obamas (they paid $8.1 million for their home) and Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner (they rented a home worth $5.5 million from a Chilean magnate for $15,000 per month), and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (he turned the former Textile Museum into a home after paying $23 million for it in 2017), it’s probably good enough for diplomats. In fact, many would agree: About 25 embassies for countries from Afghanistan to Yemen dot the streets there, as does the Alliance Francaise, Consulate of Poland and the Venezuela Naval Attaché.

Restaurants and shops line Connecticut Avenue and Columbia Road, and bustling Dupont Circle is a stone’s throw to the south of the neighborhood while edgy Adams Morgan lies to the north, both offering residents and visitors plenty of options for a good time.

Christie-Anne Weiss Senior vice president and global advisor TTR Sotheby’s International Realty

Named after a classical estate built on one of the city’s highest elevations in 1807, Kalorama – which means “beautiful view” in Greek —has evolved to be home to one of the District’s poshest neighborhoods.

It’s also got quite a few landmarks, making it a great spot for history buffs or Instagrammers. Like the Obamas, Former President Woodrow Wilson bought a house there after he left office. Now called the President Wilson House, it’s open to the public to tour and is designated a National Historic Landmark.

As of Feb. 19, 29 homes were for sale in Kalorama, ranging in price from $300,000 for a 500-square-foot studio to $5.9 million for an 8,500-square foot home, based on Compass listings.

Georgetown

Where it is: By law, it is “bounded on the east by Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway from the Potomac River to the north boundary of Dumbarton Oaks Park, on the north by the north boundary of Dumbarton Oaks Park, Whitehaven Street and Whitehaven Parkway to 35th Street, south along the middle of 35th Street to Reservoir Road, west along the middle of Reservoir Road to Archbold Parkway, on the west by Archbold Parkway from Reservoir Road to the Potomac River, on the south by the Potomac River to the Rock Creek Parkway.”

The Old Georgetown Act of 1950 designated the federal Old Georgetown historic district ‘s borders and established a requirement for the Commission of Fine Arts to review all proposed projects. Indeed, much of the

They’re close together. That makes it really easy, not only from a personal community standpoint, but also ease of access to one another.

European Union Ambassador’s Residence.

Photo: EU Delegation to the US

Kalorama neighborhood homes.

Photo: AgnosticPreachersKid, CC BY-SA 3.0

neighborhood has the feel of stepping back in time, with cobblestone roads and the Old Stone House, which dates to 1765 and is one of the oldest houses in the District.

Juxtapose that image with the sharp-edged House of Sweden, one of 10 embassies in Georgetown. Flanking the Potomac and inaugurated in 2006, the five-story modern structure will, as of this year, house the chancery, a cultural center, the ambassador’s official residence and the ambassador’s private residence. It also houses the Embassy of Iceland.

“This was not really a developed land; there was nothing here, so we managed to purchase this land here and we managed to get all the permits to build this brandnew building,” said Lars-Erik Tindre, head of department for public diplomacy, press, information and culture at the Embassy of Sweden. “We wanted to create a landmark location for a diplomatic presence of Sweden in Washington and create a place which we could call House of Sweden.”

Until the mid-1980s the chancery was in the Watergate complex and then on M Street NW until 2006. The country has owned since 1947 a Spanish villa on Nebraska Avenue NW that served as the ambassador’s residence, but now is preparing to sell it, Tindre said.

“Diplomacy is happening at a faster pace, and we are changing our premises in line with what we need to do, what we want to do, what we want to achieve, what persons we want to attract to the building here, and so now we are moving away from the ambassador’s residence on Nebraska and now everything is collocated here,” he said.

Georgetown is a melting pot of cultures, with restaurants featuring international cuisine and shops of global popularity. It’s also a mecca for fitness fans who can run, bike or walk Rock Creek Trail and the C&O Canal Towpath. Stand-up paddle boarding, kayaks and canoes are available to rent at the river’s edge. For an

extra challenge, there are always the Exorcist Stairs, a set of narrow, steep steps featured in the 1973 horror film “The Exorcist.”

Home to Georgetown University, it’s also attractive to studious types. Families seek is out because of the many private schools there, including the Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School for girls, Georgetown Day School and the Field School. Public schools here also rate highly: Haye-Addison Elementary ranks as the 10th best elementary school and Hardy Middle is No. 6, both according to US News & World Report. Georgetown does not currently have a public high school, however.

The neighborhood tends to be popular among single diplomatic staff members because of its vibrant nightlife and shopping areas, particularly along M Street and Wisconsin Avenue. It’s also close to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for cultural date nights, and across the river from Arlington, whose Rosslyn, Clarendon and Ballston neighborhoods are full of young residents and trendy spots.

Housing prices in Georgetown are high. Compass lists 44 homes for sale as of Feb. 19, two of which are listed for $12 million. In January 2022, the median listing price was $1.8 million, up 12% year-over-year.

Suburban Sweet Spots

Although the District is most countries’ and their representatives’ top choice because of ease of access to Congress, other embassies, office spaces and public transportation, some set up shop in suburban settings in Virginia and Maryland.

For example, the Oman and Qatar cultural attaché offices are in Vienna, Va., near major thoroughfares such as Chain Bridge Road and Leesburg Pike, with easy connections to I-495 and I-66 to reach DC.

The Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to the United States is a little farther south in Fairfax, Va. Fairfax County has some of the top-rated public schools in the country and is the second most racially diverse county in the state. It also boasts 420 public parks and 325 miles of trails for nature lovers, and Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria—massive shopping malls with stores offering discount goods to luxury items.

Just over the DC-Maryland border is Bethesda. Like Vienna and Fairfax, the location offers quick access to downtown DC. Rochambeau French International School is situated here with more than 80 nationalities represented. Because it is part of the Agency for French Education Overseas, students can easily transfer to almost 500 schools worldwide should their parents be reassigned.

Similarly, the German International School is in nearby Potomac, Md. Graduates receive a high school diploma from the state and also the German International Abitur, the highest diploma awarded to secondary school students in Germany.

One overlooked area, Howar said, is McLean, Va. “Several very affluent countries have bought properties on the river in McLean and then McLean proper, even out to the 22012 ZIP code, which is further out, has a lot of embassy rentals,” she said. “I think the problem with the embassies that have had residences in far-out Bethesda and Potomac [is] that when they entertain, many people don’t want to drive that far out. I think being centrally located in D.C. has really been the preference for a long time.”

Designated Digs

The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) works with countries interested in locating in the International Chancery Center (ICC) at Connecticut Avenue and Van Ness Street NW, or the Foreign Missions Center (FMC), which covers part of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda.

In 1968, the International Center Act established a 47acre enclave in the Van Ness neighborhood as the ICC for foreign missions to lease land from the US government. The ICC “became a purpose-built community designed to balance the federal government’s need to accommodate foreign mission facilities while addressing the concerns of citizens about the location and operation of foreign missions in Washington,” said NCPC’s 2016 Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital. According to the State Department, ICC is home to 16 foreign embassies. The first was Israel and the most recent was Morocco, NCPC public affairs specialist Stephen Staudigl told us by email.

“Now that the International Chancery Center is full, countries looking for new sites can locate in the Foreign Missions Center,” Staudigl said. “No decisions have been made regarding what happens when all its sites are utilized. However, countries are always free to acquire a site outside an enclave.”

FMC has 32 acres that could accommodate 11 to 15 foreign missions with up to 2,000 employees in about 1 million square feet of development. NCPC has so far reviewed and approved only the Libyan Embassy there. 

NATIONAL DAYS

21 July Belgium Accession of King

Leopold I

23 July Egypt Revolution Day

26 July Liberia Independence Day

28 July Peru Fiestas Patrias

30 July Morocco Throne Day

1 August Benin Independence Day

1 August Switzerland Foundation of Confederation

3 August Niger Independence Day

6 August Bolivia Independence Day

6 August Jamaica Independence Day

7 August Cote d’Ivoire Independence Day

9 August Singapore National Day

10 August Ecuador National Day

11 August Chad Independence Day

14 August Pakistan Independence Day

15 August Republic National Day of Congo

15 August India Independence Day

15 August Republic Liberation Day of Korea

15 August Liechtenstein National Day

17 August Gabon Independence Day

17 August Indonesia Independence Day

19 August Afghanistan Independence Day

20 August Hungary Saint Stephen’s Day

24 August Ukraine Independence Day

25 August Uruguay Independence Day

27 August Moldova Independence Day

31 August Kyrgyzstan Independence Day

31 August Malaysia Independence Day / Malaysia Day

31 August Trinidad and National Day Tobago

1 September Slovakia Constitution Day

1 September Uzbekistan Independence Day

2 September Vietnam National Day 6 September Eswatini Somhlolo Day 7 September Brazil Independence Day 8 September North

27 September Turkmenistan Independence Day

30 September Botswana Independence Day

1 October China National Day

1 October Cyprus Independence Day

1 October Nigeria Independence Day

2 October Guinea Independence Day

3 October Germany Day of German Unity

3 October Iraq National Day

4 October Lesotho Independence Day

8 October Croatia Independence Day

9 October Uganda Independence Day

12 October Spain National Day

27 October St. Vincent Independence Day and the Grenadines

28 October Czech Republic National Day

29 October Turkey Republic Day

1 November Algeria Revolution Day

1 November Antigua and Independence Day Barbuda

3 November Dominica Independence Day

3 November Panama Separation Day

4 November Tonga National Day

9 November Cambodia Independence Day

1

2

2

5

STATUES OF GLOBAL LEADERS

Simón Bolívar, Eleftherios Venizelos, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Kahlil Gibran may not be household names for most Americans. But to citizens of the countries these men came from, they’re every bit as important as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.

In fact, the nation’s capital—famous for its Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and Kennedy Center—is also home to dozens of statues honoring non-American heroes.

Some, like Marquis de Lafayette of France, Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben of Germany and Thaddeus Kosciuszko of Poland, were generals who helped the fledgling United States defeat the British in the American Revolutionary War. Others, such as Bulgaria’s Vasil Levski, Chile’s Bernardo O’Higgins, Mexico’s Benito Juárez and Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar, helped secure independence for their own countries.

And still others, such as India’s beloved Mahatma Gandhi, Britain’s Sir Winston Churchill and South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela, are considered 20th-century heroes for their determination and leadership in the face of overwhelming odds.

In this directory, we have photographed 21 statues and included them throughout the directory. We encourage you to find them all—and visit them.

If we have missed any important statues, please send an email to news@washdiplomat.com, put “STATUES” in the subject line, and we will do our best to include them in our next edition. 

Photos: Austin Tolchin

Simón Bolívar

Kahlil Gibran

Sir Winston Churchill

WOMEN AMBASSADORS

Albania Ambassador Floreta Faber

Armenia Ambassador Lilit Makunts

Canada

Cuba

Ambassador Kirsten Hillman

Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera

Denmark Ambassador Christina M. Lassen

Dominican Republic Ambassador Sonía Guzmán

Ecuador Ambassador Ivonne A-Baki

El Salvador Ambassador Milena Mayorga Valera

Germany Ambassador Emily Margarethe Haber

Ghana

Greece

Grenada

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Jamaica

Jordan

Ambassador Hajia Alima Mahama

Ambassador Alexandra Papadopoulou

Ambassador Yolande Yvonne Smith

Ambassador Bergdís Ellertsdóttir

Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason

Ambassador Mariangela Zappia

Ambassador Audrey Marks

Ambassador Dina Kawar

Lithuania Ambassador Audra Plepyté

Luxembourg

Malawi

Mauritania

Ambassador Nicole Bintner-Bakshian

Ambassador Justice Esme Chombo

Ambassador Cissé Mint Cheikh Ould Boide

Monaco Ambassador Maguy Maccario Doyle

Morocco

Namibia

Ambassador Princess Lalla Joumala Alaoui

Ambassador Margaret Mensah-Williams

Nigeria Ambassador Uzoma Emenike

Norway

Ambassador Anniken Krutnes

Rwanda Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana

St. Kitts & Nevis

St. Lucia

St. Vincent & the Grenadines

Saudi Arabia

South Africa

Sweden

Tanzania

Tunisia

Uganda

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Ambassador Thelma Phillip-Browne

Ambassador Elizabeth Darius-Clarke

Ambassador Lou-Anne Gaylene Gilchrist

Ambassador Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud

Ambassador Nomaindiya Cathleen Mfeketo

Ambassador Karin Ulrika Olofsdotter

Ambassador Elsie Sia Kanza

Ambassador Hanène Tajoiuri Bessassi

Ambassador Santa Laker Kinyera

Ambassador Oksana Markarova

Ambassador Dame Karen Pierce

Signature Properties Exceptional Service

Generations of Experience

A third-generation Washingtonian born into a family of DC-based developers, Cynthia Howar, an accomplished attorney and realtor, has a lifelong understanding of the Washington, Virginia, and Maryland markets.

Immersed in DC’s vibrant culture and surrounded by diplomats her entire life, Cynthia’s grandfather constructed the Islamic Center on Mass Avenue, which was dedicated in 1957 by President Dwight D.Eisenhower.

Cynthia has earned a reputation for her immaculate professionalism, dutiful work ethic, and strong sales performance. Her years of community involvement in several associations, including the federal government and non-profit organizations, reflects her pride in the DC Metro area and its growth. Cynthia is licensed in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

CYNTHIA IS RANKED AMONG “AMERICA’S BEST REAL ESTATE AGENTS” AND “WASHINGTONIAN’S BEST REAL ESTATE AGENTS”

EMBASSY DIRECTORY

Putting together a comprehensive and standardized directory of all 180+ foreign ambassadors to the United States is a daunting task. To accomplish this, we had to call each embassy to get CVs and photos, then condense the information into one-paragraph biographies in a tightly written, consistent manner. Much of this information can already be found scattered all over the internet, but it is neither consistent nor complete. For example, ambassadors’ names can take different styles. Questions abound, such as how to address an ambassador who’s also a monarch, like Her Highness Princess Lalla Joumala of Morocco, or Saudi Arabia’s Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud.

The structures of names vary according to region. In Latin America, the mother’s maiden name becomes a person’s “segundo apellido,” or second last name, but that’s often dropped on second reference or not used at all. For example, Honduran Ambassador Luís Fernando Suazo Barahona is referred to “Ambassador Luís Fernando Suazo” — omitting “Barahona.” Likewise, in Asian countries names may be

reversed. For example, Japanese Ambassador Tomita might be listed as “TOMITA Koji,” even though “Tomita” is his last name.

Some publications have offered abbreviated versions of a directory, but they are not nearly as extensive as ours. We took on this challenge to compile not only embassies but also government agencies, business organizations and other useful information into the best directory of its kind you will ever find. With that in mind, please remember that no directory will ever be 100% accurate. By press time, some ambassadors will have left their posts, a few embassies may have moved, and other details could be outdated.

For that reason, we promise to update this directly annually. If you see an error, please notify us at directory@washdiplomat.com. We will immediately publish corrections online. Finally, to access this directly online, or to purchase extra copies, please go to our website: www.washdiplomat.com.

Copyright © 2022 The Washington Diplomat Inc. All rights reserved

EMBASSY DIRECTORY

Embassy of Albania

2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 223-4942 | Email: embassy.washington@mfa.gov.al

Floreta Faber has been Albania’s ambassador to the US since 2015. Born in 1968 in the northern city of Shkoder, Faber graduated from Tirana University’s Faculty of Economics in 1990, then completed a two-year course in international marketing and strategy at the Norwegian School of Management in Oslo (1993-95).

From 1995 to 2000, Faber worked with Deloitte & Touche, helping the accounting firm open its new branch in Tirana; that period included a secondment program with Deloitte’s Czech office in Prague. She was executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce of Albania from 2000—when it opened—until her current appointment.

Faber

Besides the embassy itself, Faber oversees two consulates —one in Washington and one in New York—as well as three honorary consulates in Atlanta, Dallas and Detroit.

Her husband, Dr. Edmond Faber, is a vascular surgeon; together, they have a daughter, Kesli, and a son, Klint.

Embassy of Algeria

2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 265-2800 | Email: mail@algerianembassy.org

Mohammed Haneche replaced Ahmed Boutache, who had served only a year, as Algeria’s ambassador to the US.

Born in 1953 in Béjaïa, Haneche graduated from the National School of Administration (ENA) in 1977. That year, he was recruited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, later heading its Western Europe-North America Division (DEOAN) from 1979 to 1982.

His next assignments were first secretary, then counselor, at the Algerian Embassy in Ottawa (1988-89); deputy director of media relations at the Foreign Ministry’s Press and Information Directorate (1989-91); ambassador to Oman (1991-93); secretary-general of the Foreign Ministry (1993-94) and ambassador to Germany, serving in Bonn and later Berlin (1994-2000). Later assignments included director-general of Europe at the Foreign Ministry (2001-05); ambassador to Spain (2005-16); and advisor to the cabinet (2016-17). In 2019, he was named Algeria’s ambassador to Italy and served in Rome prior to his current appointment.

Haneche has represented Algeria in many international meetings including the Arab League and the African Union. The diplomat speaks Arabic, French, English, Spanish and German, and is married with two children.

Embassy of Angola

2100-2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 785-1156 | Email: info@angola.org

Joaquim do Espírito Santo, born in 1959 in Congo, became Angola’s ambassador to the US in September 2019. Before taking up his current post, he directed the Africa, Middle East and Regional Organization divisions in Angola’s Ministry of External Relations (2011-18).

A career diplomat, Espírito Santo also served as minister-counselor at Angola’s embassy in France (2004-09), and as minister-counselor and chargé d’affaires at its mission in Mexico (2002-04). Before that, Espírito Santo served in various senior positions in Angola’s Ministry of External Relations, including director for Europe. He’s also an accomplished lecturer, having spoken globally on African development, peace and security issues.

Espírito Santo holds a degree in economics from Agostinho Neto University in Luanda, as well as a master’s in political science from the School of Advanced Political Studies in Paris. He speaks Portuguese, English, French, Spanish and various African languages. The ambassador is married with two children.

Ambassador Floreta

Ambassador Mohammed Haneche

ANGOLA Ambassador Joaquim do Espírito Santo

Sir Ronald Sanders

Embassy of Antigua & Barbuda

3234 Prospect Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 362-5122 | Email: embantbar@aol.com

Sir Ronald Sanders has represented Antigua & Barbuda as ambassador to the US since 2015. A seasoned diplomat, businessman and academic, Sanders served for separate periods in 2016 and 2021 as president of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States. He also chaired the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) against drug trafficking and money laundering (2003-04) and served on the executive board of UNESCO (1985-87).

Sanders was twice Antigua’s high commissioner to the UK. In 2004, he earned the distinction of being the only representative of a small state to lead an arbitration case at the WTO and win. He’s also negotiated tax and investment agreements with the US, Britain, Australia and China.

A former visiting fellow at Oxford University, Sanders holds a master’s in international relations from the University of Sussex and is the author of “Crumbled Small: The Commonwealth Caribbean in World Politics” (London, 2005).

Sanders writes a regular column in leading Caribbean newspapers and is frequently interviewed by the BBC, Caribbean News Agency and other media outlets.

Embassy of Argentina

1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 238-6400 | Email: eeuu@mrecic.gov.ar

Lawyer and politician Jorge Argüello became Argentina’s ambassador to the US in February 2020 for the second time. He began his career in 1987 as a member, then chairman, of the City Council of Buenos Aires. He served twice as a national congressman—the first time during Carlos Menem’s presidency in 1991 and then during Nestor Kirchner’s presidency in 2003. While in Congress, Argüello chaired the Foreign Affairs Committee as well as a separate committee on the disputed Malvinas (Falkland) Islands. He served as Argentina’s permanent representative to the UN (2007-11), ambassador to the US (2011-12) and ambassador to Portugal and Cabo Verde (2013-15).

Ambassador Jorge Argüello

Argüello has also held various advisory positions with the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI); the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Services; the Centro de Estudos Internacionais (CEI) at Portugal’s ISCTE-IUL University; and the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE). He is married to Erika Grinberg and has four children.

Embassy of Armenia

2225 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 319-1976 | Email: armembassyusa@mfa.am

In late 2021, Lilit Makunts became Armenia’s first female ambassador to the US, replacing Varuzhan Nersesyan. Her arrival in Washington follows stints as the majority leader in Armenia’s parliament (2019-21), representing the My Step coalition, and as minister of culture in the first cabinet of Nikol Pashinyan (2018-19).

A political appointee, Makunts was born in 1983 in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Romance and Germanic philology at Yerevan State University. She has also done coursework within the framework of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Makunts worked as a senior lecturer from 2005 to 2019 at Russian-Armenian University. She was also educational project coordinator and lecturer at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s Academy of Social Democracy in Germany, and worked with the US Peace Corps in Yerevan from 2016 to 2018. She is fluent in Russian, English and German.

ARMENIA

Ambassador Lilit Makunts

Ambassador

Arthur Sinodinos

Embassy of Australia

1145 17th St NW, Washington DC, 20036-4707

Tel: +1 202 797-3000 | Email: media.us@dfat.gov.au

Arthur Sinodinos, Australia’s ambassador to the US since February 2020, was previously his country’s minister for industry, innovation and science, and was a senator representing New South Wales in the Australian Parliament from 2011 to 2019.

Sinodinos began his public service career in 1979, rising to senior executive in the Department of the Treasury. Upon John Howard’s 1996 election as prime minister, Sinodinos became Howard’s senior economic advisor, and in 1997, Howard’s chief of staff—a position he held for nine years.

In 2006, Sinodinos left government to work with Goldman Sachs & JBWere, as well as National Australia Bank and various corporate appointments.

In 2008, Sinodinos was named an Officer of the Order of Australia for his service to politics and the Greek community. In 2019, he became a Distinguished Fellow of the Australia & New Zealand School of Government for his promotion of public sector leadership.

Sinodinos and his wife, Elizabeth, have three children.

Embassy of Austria

3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

Chargé d’affaires

Günther

Salzmann

Tel: +1 202 895-6700 | Email: washington-ob@bmeia.gv.at

Embassy of Azerbaijan

2741 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 337-3500 | Email: azerbaijan@azembassy.us

Khazar Ibrahim is Baku’s new ambassador in Washington as of July 26, 2021. He replaced Elin Suleymanov, who had the job for 10 years before being reassigned to London on July 26, 2021.

Ibrahim previously served at the Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington from 2002 to 2005— where his portfolio included political, military and public diplomacy issues—then came back from 2009 to 2011 as deputy chief of mission. He was also a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as head of his country’s mission to NATO until 2017, and then ambassador to Turkey for the four years preceding his appointment to Washington.

Ibrahim

Ibrahim has a master’s degree in international relations from Baku State University, and another master’s in security studies from Washington’s Georgetown University. He also attended senior courses at the NATO Defense College in Rome (2000-01).

He is married and has one son and three daughters.

Ambassador Khazar

Ambassador

Wendall Kermith Jones

Embassy of the Bahamas

600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Suite #530, Washington, DC 20037

Tel: +1 202 319-2660 | Email: embassy@bahamasembdc.org

Wendall K. Jones, who replaced Sidney S. Collie in March 2022 as ambassador of the Bahamas to the United States, is a prominent journalist and CEO of Jones Communications International Ltd. (JCI), which owns Radio Love 97 FM, JCN-TV Channel 14 and a book publishing venture. Jones, who studied at the University of the West Indies in Barbados, began his journalism career with the Broadcasting Corp. of the Bahamas in 1972, and later worked at WTVJChannel 4 in Miami and the Voice of America in Washington. Among other things, he’s published a locally bestselling book, “The 100 Most Outstanding Bahamians of the 20th Century” as well as its companion, “Bahamian Legends” Volumes I and II.

As a broadcaster, Jones has hosted two popular current-affairs radio and TV programs, “Jones and Company” and “Issues of the Day,” and has interviewed several famous people including Margaret Thatcher and Gen. Colin Powell. The ambassador enjoys reading, painting and playing piano in his leisure time.

Embassy of Bahrain

3502 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 342-1111 | Email: ambsecretary@bahrainembassy.org

In June 2017, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa appointed Shaikh Abdulla bin Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa as the island nation’s ambassador to the United States.

Abdulla obtained a bachelor’s degree from Boston’s Bentley University, later earning an MBA from that same institution as well as a certificate from Harvard’s Kennedy School focusing on innovation in governance.

Ambassador

Shaikh Abdulla

bin Rashid

bin Abdulla Al Khalifa

In 2010, he was named governor of Bahrain’s Southern Governorate, by far the largest of the country’s four governorates. As such, he launched a partnership with the US nonprofit organization DARE to develop an anti-violence and anti-addiction program run by police officers in elementary and secondary schools. The initiative would later be transformed into a national program sponsored by Bahrain’s National Anti-Drug Committee.

In 2007, Abdulla was elected vice president of the Asian Shooting Confederation, and also served on the Bahrain Olympic Committee from 2008 to 2017. In addition, he was president of the Asian Bodybuilding Federation.

Embassy of Bangladesh

3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 244-0183 | Email: mission.washington@mofa.gov.bd

Muhammad Imran, the Bangladeshi ambassador in Washington since September 2022, has been a career foreign service officer since 1986.

Imran’s first job was assistant secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka (1989-94). He was next posted to consulate-general in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (1994-98) and was then counselor at the Bangladeshi Embassy in Germany (Bonn 1998-99 and Berlin 1999-2001).

Ambassador Muhammad Imran

Following posts in Ottawa as counselor at the Bangladesh High Commission in Canada (2002-05), in Kolkata, India, as deputy high commissioner (2005-08) and director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2008-10), Imran was named ambassador to Uzbekistan, with concurrent accreditation to neighboring Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

In 2013, he became ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, a position he held for seven years. In Abu Dhabi, Imran was also Bangladesh’s permanent representative to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

His last job before coming to Washington was high commissioner of Bangladesh to India (2020-22). Imran graduated from Dhaka University’s Mymensingh Medical College. He also studied at the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy. Imran and his wife, Dr. Zakia Hasnat Imran, have two daughters.

Ambassador

Noel Anderson Lynch

Chargé d’affaires

Pavel Shidlovsky

Embassy of Barbados

2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 939-9200 | Email: washington@foreign.gov.bb

Noel Anderson Lynch has been the ambassador of Barbados to the US since October 2018. Lynch began his political career as a senator in 1994, serving until 1999. He was elected to the Barbados House of Assembly for two consecutive terms (2000-08), and also served as minister of tourism and international transport.

A marketing and communications professional as well as a former pro athlete, Lynch lectured at the University of the West Indies and was CEO of the Barbados Cricket Association. He also served as president of the Amateur Athletic Association of Barbados; manager of the national track team to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney; and vicepresident of the North American and Central American Confederation of the International Association of Athletic Federations.

Lynch holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and business administration, a bachelor’s in English and Spanish, and a diploma in education teaching certificate, all from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez, as well as a master’s in marketing from the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico. He is fluent in Spanish and married to Deborah Stoute.

Embassy of Belarus

1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 986-1606 | Email: usa@mfa.gov.by

Embassy of Belgium

1430 K Street NW, Suite #101, Washington, DC 20005

Tel: +1 202 333-6900 | Email: washington@diplobel.fed.be

Jean-Arthur Régibeau, Belgium’s ambassador to the US since September 2020, was born in 1962. Régibeau has a master’s degree in law from the State University of Liège, and a certificate in international law from the State University of Leiden in the Netherlands. In 1986, he enrolled at the Johns Hopkins University SAIS program in Bologna, Italy, earning a diploma in international relations.

As a trainee, Régibeau worked for a Belgian bank in New York (1987-88), then escorted groups of Belgian tourists visiting the US (1991-92) before joining Belgium’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1998 as a diplomatic advisor to the minister of defense (1999-2002). Régibeau was first secretary at the Embassy of Berlin, then head of the private office of the defense minister. In 2007, he became director-general in charge of multilateral organizations at the Foreign Ministry. In 2016, he was named ambassador to Russia. Régibeau, a dual Belgian-Swiss citizen, speaks fluent French, Dutch, English and German, in addition to some Italian and Russian. The father of one daughter, he enjoys soccer, hiking, strategy games, history and literature.

Ambassador

Jean-Arthur Régibeau

Ambassador

Lynn Raymond Young

Embassy of Belize

2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 332-9636 | Email: reception.usa@mfa.gov.bz

Lynn Raymond Young is Belize’s ambassador-designate to the United States.

Born in 1958, Young earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad (1981) and an MBA from Canada’s University of Western Ontario (1991).

From 1999 to 2011, Young was president and CEO of Belize Electricity Ltd. (BEL) the sole distributor of electricity in Central America’s only English-speaking nation. And from 2011 to 2021, he was president and CEO of Belize Electric Co. Ltd. (BECOL), which generates and supplies about 50% of the country’s power from three hydro generating plants in western Belize.

Young has previously been honorary consul of both South Korea and Canada in Belize; he was also an elected representative of the St. George’s Caye Village Council. In the past, Young was on the boards of Cayman Utilities Co., Fortis Turks & Caicos, Shell Belize Ltd., the University of Belize and the nonprofit Kolbe Foundation.

Young and his wife, Margaret Althea Young, have four children.

Embassy of Benin

2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 232-6656 | Email: ambassade.washington@gouv.bj

Since July 2020, Jean-Claude do Rego has been ambassador in Washington of the West African nation of Benin. Before that, he was Benin’s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York (2016-20).

While at the UN, do Rego on several occasions chaired the African Group of Ambassadors to the UN. In addition, he sits on the executive board of UNICEF and was on the executive boards of the UN Development Program, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) between 2016 and 2019.

Before that, he was deputy representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ethiopia. He had several senior positions within the UNHCR, including assistant regional representative for West Africa (2012-15). As such, he coordinated humanitarian aid in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger and Nigeria.

Born in 1960 and a father of three, do Rego has a PhD in management and an MBA from the Sorbonne, and a master’s in economic sciences from the University of Dakar.

Embassy of Bolivia

Chargé

3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 483-4410 | Email: embolivia.wdc@gmail.com

Bojan Vujić

Embassy of Bosnia & Herzegovina

2109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037

Tel: +1 202 337-1500 | Email: info@bhembassy.org

Bojan Vujić may not have much experience in diplomacy, but when it comes to tennis, he’s definitely at the top of his game.

Vujić, who was named ambassador of Bosnia & Herzegovina to the United States in August 2019, was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 1974. As a rising tennis player, he won pioneer and junior championships beginning at age 11, and played in the senior championship of Yugoslavia in 1992 and 1993.

He played at three Grand Slam tournaments and the Australian Open in 1993 and 1994, the US Open in 1996 and several other international competitions. Vujić ranked 275th on the 1996 Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) list of the world’s best tennis players.

Vujić says that living and working with other people in multicultural environments—and in situations where teamwork was essential—has given him the skills necessary to represent his troubled country as ambassador in Washington.

In addition to Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian, Vujić is also fluent in English and German.

Embassy of Botswana

1531-33 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 244-4990 | Email: info@botswanaembassy.org

Onkokame Kitso Mokaila, Botswana’s ambassador to the US since August 2020, is a former businessman.

Early in his career, managed the Botswana operations of several multinational companies including Unisys, International Computer Ltd. (ICL) and Hyundai Motors. As a member of Parliament from 2004 to 2019, Mokaila held a wide range of cabinet portfolios and ministerial posts; as such, he was responsible for environmental issues, tourism, transportation, communications, minerals, energy and water resources.

Before joining politics and the corporate world, Mokaila served in the Botswana Defence Force (1980-88), attaining the rank of captain.

Onkokame Kitso

Mokaila

He is a graduate of India’s College of Military Engineering as well as the Swaziland College of Technology. Mokaila speaks English, Setswana and Hindi, and is married with three children.

Embassy of Brazil

3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 238-2700 | Email: ambassador.dc@itamaraty.gov.br

No information available.

Ambassador

Ambassador

Ambassador

Dato Paduka

Haji Serbini

bin Haji Ali

Embassy of Brunei Darussalam

3520 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 237-1838 | Email: info@bruneiembassy.org

Dato Paduka Haji Serbini bin Haji Ali has been Brunei’s ambassador to the US since 2016. Before this appointment, Serbini was ambassador to Belgium and permanent representative to the European Union from 2010 to 2016, with accreditation to the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Hungary.

Serbini joined his country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1980 and served in Brunei’s diplomatic missions in Singapore, Thailand and Japan. He was also Brunei’s permanent representative to the United Nations (2001-02).

Serbini was appointed executive director of the APEC Secretariat in 2000, when the wealthy oil-exporting sultanate hosted the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting. He also served as permanent secretary of both the Ministry of Health (2004-08) and Home Affairs (2009-10). The ambassador did his primary and secondary education in Brunei, undergraduate studies in Britain, and post-graduate studies in the United States.

Serbini and his wife, Rafiah Arif, have four children. He enjoys golf and brisk walking.

Embassy of Bulgaria

1621 22nd Street, NW, Dimitar Peshev Plaza, Washington DC 20008

Tel: +1 202-682-1740 | Email: office@bulgaria-embassy.org

Georgi Velikov Panayotov became Bulgaria’s ambassador to the US in June 2022.

Born in 1968, Panayotov graduated from Moscow State Institute of International Relations with a master’s degree in politics. From 1995 to 2000, he was a political officer at the Bulgarian Embassy in Tirana, Albania. He then served as deputy head of multilateral cooperation in Foreign Ministry’s Southeastern European department.

From 2002 to 2007, Panayotov was deputy chief of mission at the Bulgarian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. In 2010, he was named political officer and then deputy chief of mission at Bulgaria’s embassy in Washington.

Panayotov’s next assignment was head of NATO’s foreign affairs department (2014-16), and after that, he was Bulgaria’s permanent representative to the United Nations; he also served briefly as the country’s acting defense minister.

In addition to his native Bulgarian, Panayotov is fluent in English, Russian, German and Albanian. He has a master’s degree in politics from Moscow State Institute for International Relations. Panayotov is married with two children.

VASIL LEVSKI

Bust in front of the Embassy of Bulgaria

Vasil Levski (1837 - 1873) is a national hero of Bulgaria who dedicated himself to freeing Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.

Located at 1621 22nd St NW, Washington, DC 20008

Ambassador Georgi Panayotov

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Chargé d’affaires

Boulmonli

Leonard Lombo

Embassy of Burkina Faso

2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 332-5577 | Email: ambawdc@verizon.net

Embassy of Burundi

2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite #408, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 342-2574 | Email: burundiembusadc@gmail.com

Jean de Dieu Ndikumana, born in 1972, has been Burundi’s ambassador to the US since June 2021. Ndikumana earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Canada’s University of Ottawa, and a PhD in social science and international relations from Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy.

A longtime political science professor at the Burundi National School of Administration, Ndikumana represented Burundi in the East African Higher Education Quality Assurance Network (EAQAN), and was also a consultant to the African Union in the SOPSA project to assess the quality of water, education and health services for Burundi’s 12 million inhabitants.

From 2016 to 2018, Ndikumana was permanent secretary at Burundi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in January 2021, he represented Burundi in the Eastern African Standby Force (EASF) mission to observe parliamentary and presidential elections in Uganda. In his spare time, Ndikumana enjoys reading, soccer, basketball and traveling.

Embassy of Cabo Verde

3415 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 Tel: +1 202 965-6820 | Email: embassy@caboverdeus.net

Since October 2020, José Luis do Livramento Monteiro Alves de Brito has served as the Washington-based ambassador of Cabo Verde, a Portuguese-speaking group of 10 islands in the Atlantic—off the west coast of Africa—that’s home to around 550,000 people. He had spent the previous 24 years in various capacities with Cabo Verde Telecom, including chairman of the board, consultant and CEO.

Prior to that, Livramento served in various senior government positions, including as minister of education, science, culture and sports. The ambassador is also a researcher, having published papers on sustainable economy, privatization, human resources, economic regulations and broadband communications.

Livramento holds a degree in telecommunications and electrical engineering, as well as an MBA and a PhD in economy, all from Portugal’s Universidade Técnica de Lisboa. Fluent in Portuguese, French, English and Spanish, he is divorced and has eight children.

Ambassador Jean de Dieu Ndikumana

CABO VERDE

Ambassador Jose Luis Livramento

Ambassador

Keo Chhea

Embassy of Cambodia

4530 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011

Tel: +1 202 726-7742 | Email: camemb.usa@mfaic.gov.kh

Keo Chhea, born in Cambodia’s Prey Veng province in 1956, is a career diplomat. Educated at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, where he earned a bachelor of arts in English literature and linguistics, he also has a master’s degree in foreign affairs and trade from Australia’s Monash University, as well as a post-graduate diploma from the Indian Academy of International Law in New Delhi.

Joining Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1979, Chhea served as a desk officer—and then a bureau chief—at the ministry from 1985 to 1992, then was first secretary at the Cambodian Embassy in India (1992-96); he had the same title at Cambodia’s embassy in Brunei Darussalam (2000-01), and for two years served as deputy director-general of ASIAN in charge of political and security cooperation.

Chhea headed the special programs division at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 2003 to 2009, and then the secretariat’s external relations division from 2009 to 2016. From 2017 until his present post, Chhea advised the Foreign Ministry on ASEAN affairs, with the rank of undersecretary of state.

Embassy of Cameroon

2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 265-8790 | Email: cs@cameroonembassyusa.org

Henri Etoundi Essomba, Cameroon’s ambassador to the US since June 2016, had originally planned to be a priest—not a diplomat. But after attending seminary school, the young man—who is fluent in French and English—lost interest and was eventually accepted into Cameroon’s Foreign Ministry.

Ambassador

Henri

Following postings as North American desk officer of North America affairs and overseas postings in France and Brazil, Essomba was sent to Tel Aviv in the early 1990s to set up an embassy in Israel. He ended up staying in the Jewish state for 22 years—becoming the dean of the Israeli diplomatic corps and raising his four children there with Esther, his wife. Essomba spent more time in the country than any other ambassador, before or since.

“I feel like an Israeli myself. I’ve been contaminated by the lack of patience,” he told the Jerusalem Post in a 2015 interview. “A lot of times I have to remind myself: You’re not an Israeli. You’re a Cameroonian.”

Embassy of Canada

501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 Tel: +1 202-682-1740 | Email: ccs.scc@international.gc.ca

Kirsten Hillman was appointed Canada’s ambassador to the US in March 2020. She’s the first woman ever to serve in this position.

As deputy ambassador from August 2017 to August 2019, Hillman was deeply involved in talks to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Before joining the embassy, Hillman was assistant deputy minister of the Trade Agreements and Negotiations Branch at Global Affairs Canada, overseeing all of Canada’s trade policy and trade talks. She also served as Canada’s chief negotiator for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

For many years, Hillman was senior trade counsel, representing Canada in NAFTA-related disputes. She was also senior legal advisor at Canada’s permanent mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva.

Before joining Global Affairs Canada, Hillman practiced law in Montréal and at the Department of Justice in Ottawa. Hillman grew up in Calgary and Winnipeg, and has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba, and a bachelor of common law from McGill University.

Etoundi Essomba

Ambassador Kirsten Hillman

Ambassador

Martial Ndoubou

Embassy of Central African Republic

2704 Ontario Road NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 483-7800 | Email: pc@usrcaembassy.org

Martial Ndoubou has represented the Central African Republic as ambassador to the United States since September 2018.

A career diplomat, Ndoubou graduated in public law with a specialization in international relations from the University of Bangui, then joined his country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1999. He then served as chargé d’affaires at the CAR Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, from 2003 to 2006, and then as deputy chief of mission there from 2006 to 2012.

In 2012, Ndoubou became deputy chief of mission and vice-general consul at the CAR Embassy in Paris, where he remained for six years until his current appointment in Washington.

One of the world’s poorest countries, the landlocked CAR—which got independence from France in 1960—is today home to about five million people. It ranks second to last on the UN’s most recent Human Development Index, ahead of only neighboring Niger.

Embassy of Chad

2401 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 652-1312 | Email: info@chadembassy.us

Ngote Gali Koutou has been Chad’s ambassador to the US since 2018. Born in 1957 in Kyabe, he’s an administrator by training and has held several key positions in government since earning a degree in public law and graduating from Chad’s National School of Administration.

Ambassador Ngote Gali Koutou

Koutou began his public career as director of spatial and regional planning (1997-98), and was then promoted to secretary-general of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Cooperation (1999-2003). For the next six years, he was director of the Prime Minister’s Office (2003-09), then became deputy director of the president’s civil cabinet (2010-11), then deputy director-general of Chad’s state oil company, Société des Hydrocarbures du Tchad (2012-13).

After a year as director of the president’s civil cabinet (2014), he returned to the state oil company as director-general (2015-16). In addition, Koutou was national authorizing officer for Chad at the European Development Fund, and has served on the boards of Banque Commerciale du Chari, the state cotton entity (Cotonchad), the telecom firm Sotelchad and various other public entities.

Koutou, an army reserve officer, is married and has six children.

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BERNARDO O’HIGGINS Embassy

of Chile

Bernardo O’Higgins (1778 - 1842), considered the founding father of Chile, freed his country from the Spanish monarchy in the Chilean War of Independence.

Located at 1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Chargé d’affaires

Xu Xueyuen

Embassy of Chile

1732 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 785-1746 | Email: echile.eeuu@minrel.gob.cl

In late April 2022, Juan Gabriel Valdes, one of Chile’s most senior statesmen, was appointed ambassador to the United States—a job he had from 2014 to 2018.

Among other key posts, Valdes, 75, was Chile’s ambassador to Spain (1990-94) as well as the country’s chief trade negotiator (1996-99). He was also foreign minister under Chilean President Eduardo Frei Ruíz Tagle (1999-2000); Chile’s permanent representative to the United Nations (2000-03); ambassador to Argentina (2003-04), and chief of the UN’s Stabilization Mission in Haiti (2004-06).

Valdes has a master’s degree in Latin American studies from England’s University of Essex (1973), as well as a master’s (1975) and a doctorate (1996), both from Princeton. After finishing his PhD studies at Princeton, Valdes joined the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, where he was an assistant to former Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier. After Letelier was assassinated in a September 1976 car bombing carried out by agents of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, Valdes moved to Mexico City, remaining in exile until the 1980s, when he returned to Chile to help organize democratic opposition to the Pinochet regime. Until his current post, Valdes headed institutional and strategic affairs at the University of Chile.

Embassy of China

3505 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 495-2266 | Email: chinaembpress_us@mfa.gov.cn

Embassy of Colombia

1724 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 387-8338 | Email: eestadosunidos@cancilleria.gov.co

Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia replaced his predecessor, former Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón, as ambassador in September 2022 following Gustavo Petro’s election as the first leftist president in Colombian history.

Murillo has also made history as Colombia’s first black ambassador to the United States. Born in the western department of Chocó, Murillo has both a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering and a master’s in engineering sciences. He was elected governor of Chocó in 1997 but was kidnapped three years later by a right-wing paramilitary group, later receiving political asylum in the United States.

While in the US, he advocated for victims of racial discrimination, and consulted for various groups such as USIAD, Lutheran World Relief and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Murillo was also the first Afro-Latino to testify before the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

In 2014, Murillo was chosen to head Todos Somos PAZcífico—a massive water, sanitation and energy infrastructure project for Colombia’s impoverished Pacific coastal region—and from 2016 to 2018, he served as Colombia’s minister of environment and sustainable development.

Murillo and his Uzbek-born wife Barno Khadjibaeva have three sons.

Ambassador Juan Gabriel Valdes

Ambassador Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia

CONGO,DEM. REP. OF

Mathey-Boo

Embassy of Democratic Republic of Congo

1100 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite #725, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 234-7690 | Email: ambassade@ambardcusa.org

In June 2022, Marie-Hélène Mathey-Boo Lowumba replaced François Nkuna Balumene as the Democratic Republic of Congo’s ambassador to the US. Born in 1943 and descended from Koko Mwato I, she is the 12th Chief of Bokoli (Ngemoboku clan) in the DRC’s MaiNdombe province.

After studying sociology at Pennsylvania’s Beaver College (now Arcadia University), she earned a doctorate in law at the Free University of Brussels in Belgium. This is where she met her late husband, René Mathey. Together, they moved to Brazzaville, Congo, where Mathey-Boo launched her diplomatic career in 1972 as an advisor to Congo’s minister of foreign affairs.

Since then, she’s served in a variety of fields including bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, jurisdiction, economics, resource mobilization, international relations and community development.

Prior to her current appointment, Mathey-Boo was ambassador to Gabon (2003-05). She also served as the DRC’s minister of industry, commerce, weights and measures, directed external relations and governance at the World Health Organization, and was also country director in Nigeria for the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

Embassy of Republic of Congo

1720 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 726-5500 | Email: info@ambacongo-us.org

Born in the Congolese city of Pointe Noire in 1959, Serge Mombouli earned a degree in corporate law from the National Conservatory of Arts and Professions in Paris.

An expert in corporate law and business negotiations, Mombouli became a diplomat following a long career in the private sector. He began with the corporate sales division of Air Afrique in Paris and spent many years with AWE Group. From 1995 to 1997, he was vicepresident at Transworld Consortium Corp. in Houston.

Mombouli was named Congo’s chargé d’affaires in Washington in 1997, and ambassador to the US in 2001. On Aug. 31, 2015—upon the death of fellow ambassador Roble Olhaye of Djibouti—he became the dean of the African diplomatic corps in Washington.

Serge Mombouli

For over a decade, Mombouli—a devoted husband and father of six—has worked extensively with the private sector and the US government to strengthen US-Congo diplomatic relations in areas of governance, international development and foreign investment.

Embassy of Costa Rica

2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 499-2980 | Email: embcr-us@rree.go.cr

Chargé d’affaires

Linyi Baidal

Ambassador

Ambassador

Ibrahima Toure

Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire

2424 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 797-0300 | Email: info@ambaciusa.org

Ibrahima Toure took office as Côte d’Ivoire’s new ambassador in December 2021.

Following his 1993 graduation from the University of Abidjan with a bachelor’s degree in English, he studied diplomacy at the National School of Administration, graduating in 1998 and landing a job as research officer in the Africa, Asia and Middle East department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He later earned a post-graduate degree in political economy at London’s University of Westminster.

In 2000, he became first secretary at the Ivorian mission in Britain; six years later he was promoted to counselor on economic affairs. In 2016, Toure was named as advisor to Côte d’Ivoire’s permanent representative to the UN in New York. He then served as a political coordinator to the UN Security Council (2018-19) and in 2019, was appointed ambassador and deputy permanent representative of his country to the UN.

That same year, he also visited Mali and Burkina Faso; more recently, he helped draft and present the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Embassy of Croatia

2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 588-5899 | Email: washington@mvep.hr

Pjer Šimunović, born in the port city of Split in 1962, has been Croatia’s ambassador to the US since September 2017.

Before that, he was a director at the National Security Council as well as Croatian ambassador to Israel, defense state secretary in charge of defense policy, national coordinator for NATO and assistant foreign minister. Šimunović was also a political counselor at the Croatian Embassy in Paris, and deputy director of the analytical department of the Foreign Ministry.

During his earlier career in journalism before becoming a diplomat, he worked with the BBC World Service in London, the Paris-based magazine Europ and the Zagreb daily Večernji list, covering the collapse of communism, and crisis and war in the former Yugoslavia, as well as European and transatlantic affairs.

A regular speaker on security issues, Šimunović has written many articles dealing with the arms trade and defense industry, post-communist national security, NATO enlargement, international peacekeeping and counterterrorism. He has a master’s degree from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, and a bachelor’s in comparative literature and Italian from the University of Zagreb.

ALBERTO SANTOS-DUMONT

Bust - Brazilian Aeronautical

One of the most significant names in the world of aviation, Alberto Santos-Dumont (18731932) was a Brazilian aviator and inventor who made the first flight with his No. 14-bis in Paris.

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850 - 1937) was a politician, sociologist and philosopher who fought for Czech independence. He helped to create a functioning democratic state and eventually became the first president of Czechoslovakia.

Ambassador Pjer Šimunović

TOMÁŠ GARRIGUE MASARYK (1850-1937)

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Photo: Austin Tolchin

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Embassy of Cuba

2630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 797-8518 | Email: recepcion@usadc.embacuba.cu

In January 2021, Lianys Torres Rivera became the first woman ever to represent Cuba as ambassador to the US, replacing Havana’s longtime man in Washington, José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez. Prior to her arrival, she was Cuba’s ambassador to Vietnam (2017-20).

CUBA

Ambassador

Lianys Torres

Rivera

CZECH REPUBLIC

Born in 1971, Torres Rivera earned a bachelor’s in international economic relations from Havana’s Instituto Superior de Relaciones Internacionales Raúl Roa García in 1994. She was a doctoral candidate in political science at the University of Havana.

Assigned first to the North American division of Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex), Torres Rivera worked at the then-Cuban Interests Section in Washington as an attaché (1995-96). Her other overseas postings include stints as third secretary at the Cuban Embassy in Denmark (1998-2002), and as first secretary at the Cuban Embassy in Malaysia (2007-11).

From 2015 to 2017, Torres Rivera was part of the Cuban delegation that met with US authorities to discuss the renewal of bilateral relations and the reopening of embassies in both countries. She also belonged to several US-Cuba bilateral commissions dealing with regulatory issues, human rights, direct postal service, renewal energy and banking.

Embassy of Cyprus

2211 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 462 5772 | Email: info@cyprusembassy.net

Marios Lysiotis has been the ambassador of Cyprus to the US since September 2018. Born in 1958, Lysiotis studied philosophy and political science in France, and joined the Cypriot Foreign Service in 1991 as a diplomatic advisor to the president.

Overseas assignments included Sweden (1994-97) and Belgium (1997-2001). From 2001 to 2003, he served in the Cyprus Question Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Lysiotis went on to become permanent representative of Cyprus to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France (2004-06), deputy director of the president’s Diplomatic Office (200608), and ambassador to Austria (2008-11), with concurrent accreditation to the UN in Vienna as well as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Before his current assignment, Lysiotis was ambassador to France and permanent delegate to UNESCO (2011-16), and diplomatic advisor to the minister of defense (2016-18).

Lysiotis and his wife, Eleni Michaelidou-Lysiotou, have a daughter.

Embassy of the Czech Republic

3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 274-9100 | Email: washington@embassy.mzv.cz

In September 2022, career diplomat Miloslav Stašek became the new Czech ambassador in Washington, replacing longtime ambassador Hynek Kmoníček, who was reassigned to Vietnam.

Stašek—nominated by the previous government of Andrej Babis—is a former ambassador to Egypt and India. Born in 1971 in Plzeň, he studied at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, as well as Ain Shams University in Cairo.

Stašek has considerable experience in the Middle East, serving as deputy head of mission at the Czech Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (1999-2004); chargé d’affaires at the Czech mission in Kuwait (2004-05); director of the Czech Foreign Ministry’s Middle East and Africa Department (2005-07) and Czech ambassador to Egypt and Sudan (2007-10).

From 2010 to 2015, Stašek was ambassador to India, with concurrent accreditation to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, later becoming deputy minister at the Foreign Ministry (2016-17). He was appointed as the ministry’s secretary of state in November 2017, a position he held until his current posting to Washington.

Married with three children, Stašek is fluent in English, Arabic and Spanish in addition to his native Czech.

Ambassador Marios Lysiotis

Ambassador Miloslav Stašek

Ambassador

Christina M.

Lassen

Embassy of Denmark

3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 234-4300 | Email: wasamb@um.dk

Christina Markus Lassen recently replaced Lone Dencker Wisborg as Denmark’s ambassador to the US. She was born in 1970 and holds a master’s degree in international relations and business from Copenhagen Business School.

Lassen began her career in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1997, and one of her first positions was that of first secretary in the political department of the Danish Embassy in Washington (2000-04). She was also special advisor at the Prime Minister’s Office (200405); head of the Foreign Ministry’s Executive Secretariat (2005-09) and Danish ambassador to Syria and Jordan (2009-12).

Among other things, she was also director for public diplomacy and communications at the Foreign Ministry (2013-14) and director for stabilization and security policy (2014-15). In 2015, Lassen was sent to Beirut as the EU ambassador to Lebanon and remained there until 2019. In addition, Lassen did a fellowship at Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (2012-13) and was a diplomat-in-residence at the American University in Beirut.

Embassy of Djibouti

1156 15th Street NW, Suite #515, Washington, DC 20005

Tel: +1 202 331-0270 | Email: info@djiboutiembassyus.org

Mohamed Siad Doualeh is Djibouti’s ambassador to the US and its permanent representative to the United Nations. Before his UN post, he was special envoy to the Process for Somalia as a member of the IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) Facilitation Committee.

Ambassador

Mohamed Siad

Doualeh

Chargé d’affaires

Judith-Anne

Rolle

Born in 1968, Doualeh is married and has four children. He holds a master’s degree in British and American literature and civilization. Fluent in French and English, with acceptable written command of Spanish and Arabic, the ambassador frequently speaks at academic and diplomatic institutions on issues such as conflict resolution, human rights, piracy and maritime security.

While representing his tiny East African country in Geneva (2006-15), Doualeh was—among other things—vice-president of the Human Rights Council, nominated by the African Group; chairman of the Francophone Group of Ambassadors (2009); and chairman of the Committee for Development and Intellectual Property (2012-14).

Embassy of Dominica

1701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite #200, Washington, DC 20006

Tel: +1 202 364-6781 | Email: embdomdc@aol.com

Ambassador

Sonía Guzmán

Embassy of the Dominican Republic

1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 332-6280 | Email: embassy@drembassyusa.org

Sonía Guzmán presented her credentials virtually to President Trump in December 2020 as Santo Domingo’s new ambassador to the United States.

Guzmán, 73, is not a career diplomat. An academic most of her professional life, she’s wellknown in the Dominican Republic as being the daughter of President Antonio Guzmán, who led his country from 1978 until his death from suicide in 1982, at the age of 71.

Before her current appointment, Guzmán held several notable positions. Early on, she worked at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCCM) in Santiago, first as director of the library, then administrative vice-rector, remaining there during the 1970s. During the presidency of her father, she served as deputy administrative secretary, and then, when Hipólito Mejía was president, from 2000 to 2004, she was secretary of industry and commerce. In that capacity, she led negotiations for the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).

Guzmán is a widow of the late José María Hernández.

Embassy of Ecuador

2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 234-7200 | Email: embassy@ecuador.org

Ivonne A-Baki says women have come a long way since her arrival in Washington 23 years ago as Ecuador’s first female ambassador—but that the battle for gender equality is far from over.

A-Baki is now serving her second stint as Ecuador’s envoy to the United States.

The daughter of a Lebanese immigrant-turned-banana exporter, A-Baki was born in Guayaquíl and grew up speaking only Spanish. At age 16, she traveled to Lebanon to visit her mother’s family; there she learned Arabic, English and French.

Ivonne A-Baki

A-Baki remained in Beirut for 19 years, married, raised three children and also served as Ecuador’s honorary consul in Lebanon. But in 1975, the country’s civil war broke out, forcing her to leave the Middle East permanently.

In 1998, Ecuador’s then-president, Jamil Mahuad, asked A-Baki to help end border hostilities with neighboring Peru. She did, establishing herself in the process as an adept negotiator. A talented artist, A-Baki also unsuccessfully ran for president of Ecuador In in 2002, then went on to serve as minister of foreign trade. Before returning to Washington, she was also Ecuador’s ambassador to Qatar.

Ambassador

Ambassador

Motaz Zahran

Embassy of Egypt

3521 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 895-5400 | Email: consulate@egyptembassy.net

Motaz Zahran, Egypt’s ambassador to the US, graduated with a law degree from Morocco’s Université Mohammed-V de Rabat, then practiced law in his native Cairo before joining the Egyptian Foreign Service.

Among his previous posts, Zahran was Egypt’s assistant foreign minister and chief of cabinet at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and ambassador to Canada. From 2001 to 2005, Zahran was posted to India. He also worked for the assistant foreign minister for Arab and Mideast affairs as well as Egypt’s permanent mission to the League of Arab States in Cairo, and Egypt’s UN mission in New York.

Zahran, no newcomer to Washington, was a political counselor, congressional affairs officer and chargé d’affaires at the Egyptian Embassy in DC (2007-11). He’s also advised the foreign minister on the Mideast peace process, specifically the Israel-Palestine issue. His expertise is on nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation and security. As such, he belongs to the UN’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters and the UN Institute for Disarmament Research. Zahran is married with three children. He speaks his native Arabic, and fluent in both English and French.

Embassy of El Salvador

1400 16th Street NW, Suite #100, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 595-7500 | Email: infoeeuu@rree.gob.sv

Milena Mayorga Valera, the 1995 Miss El Salvador, became her country’s ambassador to the US in September 2020.

Before arriving in Washington, Mayorga was a member of the Legislative Assembly (201820). During her two years as a lawmaker, she served on the Children and Gender Equality Committee as well as the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Among other things, Mayorga also introduced an anti-corruption bill and the creation of the Permanent Commission against Corruption, the International Commission against Impunity in El Salvador, and the Law for the Repatriation of Stolen or Evaded Capital.

Before assuming her position as ambassador, she presented a bill to facilitate access to credit for women entrepreneurs and business owners, with a special focus on those who have been victims of domestic violence. She also sponsored a bill to prohibit the use of polyethylene plastic bags as well as other initiatives to eliminate single-use plastic.

Mayorga holds a degree in communications and has completed additional studies at Louisiana’s Tulane University. Before entering Congress, she developed a successful career in marketing and communications. Mayorga is married and has two children.

Embassy of Equatorial Guinea

2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 518-5700 | Email: lengono@egembassydc.com

Miguel Ntutumu Evuna Andeme has been Equatorial Guinea’s ambassador to the US since 2015. Before that, he was general director of cabinet at the presidency’s Department of Missions in Malabo, where his responsibilities included preparing statements, speeches and correspondence for President Teodoro Obian Nguema Mbasogo, who has ruled the country since August 1979. Previously, he was director-general for administrative affairs for the presidency and a procurement and contracts advisor for Hess Corp. in Equatorial Guinea.

Evuna Andema obtained his bachelor’s degree in international studies from La Roche College in Pittsburgh; while at La Roche, he co-founded the International Forum of African Students.

Equatorial Guinea, Africa’s only Spanish-speaking country, is home to 1.4 million inhabitants and boasts Africa’s highest per-capita income thanks to petroleum exports.

Ambassador Milena Mayorga Valera

Ambassador Miguel Ntutumu Evuna Andeme

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Chargé

Embassy of Eritrea

1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 319-1991 | Email: embassyeritrea@embassyeritrea.org

Embassy of Estonia

1990 K Street NW, Suite #430, Washington, DC 20006

Tel: +1 202 588-0101 | Email: embassy.washington@mfa.ee

Kristjan Prikk has been Estonia’s ambassador to the US since May 2021, marking his third stint in Washington. His previous postings here were as trade and economic officer (200206) and defense counselor (2010-13).

Before his current job, Prikk spent three years as permanent secretary of Estonia’s Ministry of Defense, where he managed the country’s defense forces, its foreign intelligence service and the Centre for Defense Investments. From 2015 to 2017, he was director of national security.

Ambassador

Kristjan Prikk

Before joining the Ministry of Defense, Prikk worked at the Foreign Ministry on issues related to NATO’s enlargement and its partnership with Russia, Ukraine and Georgia in the Security Policy and Arms Control Bureau (2006-07). He was also a foreign trade and WTO specialist at the Foreign Ministry in Tallinn (1999-2002).

Prikk has a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Estonia’s University of Tartu (2000) and a master’s from the US Army War College’s Strategic Studies Program (2013).

Prikk, a reserve officer in the Estonian Defense Forces, belongs to the Kaitseliit (Estonian Defense League). He and his wife, Liis, have two daughters and a son.

Embassy of Eswatini

1712 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 234-5002 | Email: embassy@eswatini-usa.com

Biography not available.

Ambassador

Seleshi Bekele

Awulachew

Embassy of Ethiopia

3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 364-1200 | Email: ethiopia@ethiopianembassy.org

Seleshi Bekele Awulachew, Ethiopia’s new ambassador in Washington, is also a member of parliament. From 2001 to 2004, Seleshi was dean and leader of Ethiopia’s Arbaminch Water Technology Institute, which he built into a full-fledged university; from 2004 to 2010, he was regional representative and head of the International Water Management Institute.

A water and climate change specialist at the African Climate Policy Center (2010-14), he served as senior inter-regional advisor for the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs in New York (2014-16). From 2016 to 2021, he was Ethiopia’s minister of water, irrigation and energy.

From October 2021 to January 2022, Seleshi advised the prime minister as chief negotiator of transboundary water and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) at a ministerial level. As ambassador, he retains the chief negotiator role for GERD, a $5 billion project slated to become the largest hydroelectric project in Africa.

Seleshi has published over 30 articles, book chapters and books, and over 60 research reports and working papers. Married and the father of two sons, he enjoys reading and playing basketball.

Embassy of Fiji

1707 L Street NW, Suite #200, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 917 208-4560 | Email: info@fijiembassydc.com

Biography not available.

Embassy of Finland

3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 298-5800 | Email: Sanomat.was@formin.fi

Mikko Hautala became Finland’s ambassador to the US in September 2020, following a four-year assignment in Moscow as ambassador to Russia (2016-20) and four years as foreign policy advisor to the president (2012-16).

Early in his career, Hautala served as attaché at Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (200102), and later as attaché at the Finnish Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine (1998-2001). Later, he was first secretary at Finland’s mission to the EU in Brussels (2002-07) and diplomatic advisor to the foreign minister (2007-11). After four years as foreign policy advisor to the president. In August 2020, the Confederation of Finnish Industries awarded Hautala its “Ambassador Prize” for his efforts to promote the interests of Finnish companies in Russia.

Hautala was born in 1972 in Seinäjoki, Finland, and studied at Helsinki University, where he earned master’s degrees in political science and philosophy. He holds the military rank of captain (reserve). Besides his native Finnish, Hautala is fluent in English, Swedish, Russian, Ukrainian and Polish. He’s married to fellow career diplomat Heli Hautala; they have two sons.

Ambassador Mikko Hautala

GENERAL MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE STATUE

Marquis de Lafayette (17571834) was a French military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War against Britain.

CROWN PRINCESS MARTHA

Norwegian ambassador’s residence

Princess Martha (1901 - 1954) was princess of Sweden and crown princess of Norway.

Located

at Massachusetts Avenue and 34th Street NW, Washington, DC

Located at southeast corner of Lafayette Square Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Embassy of France

4101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 944-6000 | Email: info@embafrance-us.org

Chargé d’affaires

Aurélie Bonal

THE GAMBIA

Messone

Embassy of Gabon

2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 797-1000 | Email: info@gabonembassyusa.org

Noël Nelson Messone has been ambassador of the West African nation of Gabon since December 2022, A married father of three, he was born in 1960 in Ovan, a small town in northeastern Gabon.

Before his current appointment, Messone belonged to Gabon’s National Assembly, serving there as vice-chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He’s also held various cabinet positions in the past, including those of deputy minister of foreign affairs (200709); minister of forestry and environment (2011-12); minister of foreign affairs (2017-18) and minister of government relations (2018-19).

Previous posts include director-general of state protocol (2017); senior political advisor to the president of Gabon (2016); Brussels-based ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (2010-15); and permanent representative to the UN in New York (2011-14).

From 1995 to 1999, Messone was associate country director of the US Peace Corps in Gabon, heading its education and rural development activities.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Messone attended the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce in Lexington, Kentucky, where he earned a master’s in international management. As an undergraduate, he attended Omar Bongo Ondimba University in Libreville, Gabon.

Embassy of The Gambia

5630 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011

Tel: +1 202 785-1399 | Email: info@gambiaembassydc.us

Momodou Lamin Bah, accountant general of The Gambia from 2014 until 2022, was appointed as The Gambia’s new ambassador in Washington. He replaced Dawda Fadera, who died in office on Feb. 20, 2022.

Bah, a chartered accountant, is an information technology expert with training in computer science and data processing at the University of Science & Technology in Ghana. He’s also certified in the governance of enterprise IT (CGEIT) and is a certified information systems auditor and information security manager.

From 2009 to 2014, Bah was a consultant with the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) project within the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. And before that, he was a financial management specialist at IFMIS.

In addition, Bah has been finance and administrative manager at the Sunbeach Hotel & Resort in Bakau (2003-05); internal audit manager for the International Bank for Commerce (Gambia) Ltd. (2002-03); IT manager for that same bank (1995-99), and data processing officer at International Trypanotolerance Centre (1985-95).

Ambassador Noël Nelson

Ambassador Momodou Lamin Bah

Ambassador

David Zalkaliani

Embassy of Georgia

1824 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 387-2390 | Email: embgeo.usa@mfa.gov.ge

In May 2022, David Zalkaliani—most recently foreign minister and then deputy prime minister of the Republic of Georgia—was named as his country’s new ambassador to the United States.

A graduate of Georgia’s Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University majoring in international law, Zalkaliani joined Georgia’s Foreign Ministry soon after the ex-Soviet republic declared independence in 1992. In 1996, Zalkaliani was posted to Georgia’s embassy in Austria and its permanent mission to the Vienna-based OSCE, serving there until 2000. Among other things, he was part of talks on Russia’s withdrawal of military bases from Georgian territory.

Returning to Vienna as Georgia’s deputy permanent representative to the OSCE (2001-02), he later became a senior counselor at Georgia’s embassy in Washington (2002-04), during which US-Georgian defense cooperation intensified.

Zalkaliani was Georgia’s ambassador to Uzbekistan (2004-07) and Belarus (2008-09), but entered politics in 2009 to create the Free Democrats. That party was part of the Georgian Dream coalition which won 2012 parliamentary elections.

Zalkaliani is fluent in English and Russian. He is married and has two daughters.

Embassy of Germany

4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 298-4000 | Email: info@washington.diplo.de

Emily Margarethe Haber has been German ambassador to the US since June 2018.

Before coming to Washington, Haber—the first woman ever to represent Germany in that post— held a number of high-level positions. From 2014 to 2018, she was state secretary in charge of homeland security and migration policy during the height of Europe’s immigration crisis.

In 2009, she was named political director at the Foreign Office in Berlin, and in 2011, state secretary, making her the first woman to hold either post. Haber also served in various posts at the German Embassy in Moscow. She headed both the German Federal Foreign Office’s OSCE division and was its deputy director-general for the Western Balkans.

Haber attended schools in New Delhi, Bonn, Paris, Brussels, Washington and Athens.

From 1975 to 1980, she studied history and ethnology in Cologne, earning her PhD with a dissertation on German foreign policy during the 1911 Morocco crisis. Earlier in her career, she served at the German Embassy in Ankara.

Haber is married to former diplomat Hansjörg Haber. The couple has two sons.

Embassy of Ghana

3512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 686-4520 | Email: info@ghanaembassydc.org

Hajia Alima Mahama, Ghana’s ambassador to the US since June 2021, has a long track record of activism in gender equality issues and the protection of children.

Before her current appointment, Mahama was a member of Parliament and minister of local government and rural development (2017-21). Before that, she was minister of women and children’s affairs (2005-09) and deputy minister for trade and industry. As such, she was instrumental in passage of Ghana’s Domestic Violence Act and the Human Trafficking Act, as well in changes in Ghana’s National Health Insurance Law to improve maternal health.

From 1987 to 2001, she was senior planner and gender development coordinator of the government’s Northern Region Rural Integrated Program (NORRIP), which was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Mahama is a graduate of Ghana Law School. She holds a master’s in development studies from the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague. She was also a Humphrey Fellow at New Jersey’s Rutgers University, where she studied urban policy and planning.

Ambassador Emily Margarethe Haber

GHANA

Ambassador Hajia Alima Mahama

ALBERT EINSTEIN MEMORIAL

SAMUEL HAHNEMANN MONUMENT

Financial Planning Workshops

401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) Plans

ETFs, Mutual Funds, UITs

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955), regarded as the greatest physicist of all time, is best known for developing the theory of relativity.

Located at 2101 Constitution Avenue NW Washington, DC 20418

Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann (1755 - 1843) was a German physician and chemist who is known as the father of homeopathy.

Located at east side of Scott Circle between Corregidor

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Photo: Austin Tolchin

ELEFTHERIOS VENIZELOS

Embassy of Greece

Eleftherios Venizelos (1864 - 1936) was one of the most prominent Greek and European leaders of the 20th century. He led the Greek national liberation movement and contributed greatly to the expansion of Greece and advancement of liberal-democratic policies.

Located at 217 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008

Embassy of Greece

GENERAL ROCHAMBEAU STATUE

General Rochambeau ( 1725 - 1807) was a French nobleman whose army played a decisive role in helping the United States defeat the British army at Yorktown in 1781 during the American Revolution.

Located at Lafayette Square, 1600 H Street NW Washington DC 20006

2217 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 939-1300 | Email: gremb.was@mfa.gr

Alexandra Papadopoulou, born in 1957, has been Greece’s ambassador to the US since February 2020. She has a law degree from the University of Athens and a master’s in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania.

Papadopoulou attended the Greek Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Academy (1981-82), later helping negotiate the future of US military bases in Greece. In 1987, she became Greek consul in New Orleans, moving to Jordan in 1991 as deputy head of mission at the Greek Embassy in Amman. She was also Greek consul general in Toronto (1994-99).

In 2000, Papadopoulou was promoted to head the Greek Liaison Office in Pristina, Kosovo. She then became deputy director of the Foreign Ministry’s Department of Balkan Affairs; deputy permanent representative to the UN (2002-07); head of the Greek Liaison Office in Skopje (2007-12); and director-general for European affairs at the Foreign Ministry (2013-14). Her other posts include Greek permanent representative to the EU in Brussels (2014-15), ambassador to Uruguay and Paraguay (2015-16) and head of the EU’s Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (2016-19).

Papadopoulou speaks English and French in addition to her native Greek.

Embassy of Grenada

1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 265-2561 | Email: embassy@grenadaembassyusa.org

Yolande Yvonne Smith, the former Miss Grenada 1989, became her Caribbean country’s ambassador to the US in November 2018. A 25-year veteran of the diplomatic service, her first posting was at the Grenada’s consulate general in Toronto (1995-99).

From 1999 to 2008, she was a staffer at the Embassy of Grenada in Washington, and in 2099, she joined the IMF’s Procurement and Strategic Budget Management Division. In addition, Smith was Grenada’s deputy consul-general in Miami (2015-18).

Smith has a diploma in youth and social work from Guyana’s Commonwealth Youth Program, as well as a certificate in information systems training from Toronto’s Ryerson University, as well as a bachelor’s degree and MBA—with an emphasis on international marketing—from Strayer University in Washington.

Smith was the first female president of the Grenada National Youth Council and co-host of a one-hour radio program. She has one daughter and two grandchildren.

Ambassador Alexandra Papadopoulou

Ambassador Yolande Yvonne Smith

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Chargé

Embassy of Guatemala

2220 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 745-4953 | Email: infoembaguateeuu@minex.gob.gt

Prior to his recent appointment as Guatemala’s ambassador to the US, Alfonso Quiñónez Lemus was the public affairs manager for Cementos Progreso in Guatemala—the largest and most populous of Central America’s seven nations.

Quiñónez Lemus, an official of Organization of American States (OAS) since 2001, was most recently executive secretary for the Summit of the Americas, as well as secretary of external relations.

Quiñónez Lemus served for five years as executive secretary for integral development and director-general of the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development. Before working at the OAS, he represented Guatemala in Spain and the United States as deputy chief of mission in Madrid and Washington, respectively, and as Guatemala’s permanent representative to the OAS.

The ambassador has law degrees from Guatemala’s Francisco Marroquín University and Georgetown University; he also studied at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Affairs.

Quiñónez Lemus sits on the boards of the US-Guatemala Business Council, the InterAmerican Foundation and the Pan-American Development Foundation. He is married with two children.

Embassy of Guinea

2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 986-4300 | Email: ambaguiwashington@mae.gov.gn

Embassy of Guinea-Bissau

No information available.

GUYANA

Ambassador

Samuel Hinds

Embassy of Guyana

2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 265-6900 | Email: guyanaembassydc@verizon.net

Samuel Hinds, Guyana’s ambassador to the US since July 2021, enjoys the unique distinction of having been his country’s prime minister and president.

Born in 1943, Hinds attended the University of New Brunswick on a scholarship from Demerara Bauxite Co., a subsidiary of ALCAN (Aluminum Company of Canada). Following his 1967 graduation with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, he began a long career with Demerara Bauxite, rising to director of product quality and R&D in 1977 and leaving the company in 1992 to enter politics.

Hinds was a longtime member of Parliament on the People’s Progressive Party ticket, serving as prime minister and vice-president with responsibility for energy and electricity, mines and minerals, telecommunications and the postal system from 1992 until his retirement in 2015. In addition, for nine months in 1997, Hinds was executive president of Guyana—South America’s only English-speaking republic— following the death of longtime President Cheddi Jagan.

Embassy of Haiti

2311 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 332-4090 | Email: amb.washington@diplomatie.ht

Bocchit Edmond, Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, began his diplomatic career in 1990 as an attaché at Haiti’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 1993, he was promoted to first secretary while serving as minister of tourism and creative industries. He later facilitated Haiti’s entry into the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and from 2001 to 2003 was a counselor at the Haitian Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica.

Ambassador Bocchit Edmond

From 2003 to 2011, Edmond was chargé d’affaires at the Haitian Embassy in Panama, with responsibility for Central America and Colombia. From 2012 to 2016, he represented Haiti before the Organization of American States (OAS), headed Haiti’s embassy in London (201618) and was appointed foreign minister in September 2018—a position he held until his current appointment in early 2020.

Edmond has a bachelor’s degree in legal studies from the State University of Haiti, and a master’s in international relations from Oxford. The ambassador speaks Haitian Creole, French, Spanish and English.

Embassy of the Holy See (Vatican)

3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 339-7121 | Email: nuntiususa@nuntiususa.org

Archbishop Christophe Pierre was born in 1946 in the French city of Rennes. Educated in Madagascar, France and Morocco, he attended the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Rennes (1963-69) and the Catholic Institute of Paris (1969-71).

Pierre was ordained a priest in 1970, earned a master’s in sacred theology (Paris, 1971) and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome (1977), and immediately began his service in the Vatican diplomatic corps.

First appointed to represent the Vatican in New Zealand and the Pacific islands (1977-81), he went on to serve in Mozambique (1981); Zimbabwe (1982-86); Cuba (1986-89); and Brazil (1989-91). In 1991, he was appointed head of the Vatican’s permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva, remaining there until 1995.

Pierre was named Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti (1995-99); Uganda (1999-2007) and Mexico (2007-16). On April 12, 2016, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. Pierre speaks French, Italian, English, Spanish and Portuguese.

HOLY SEE (VATICAN)

Ambassador Archbishop Christophe Pierre

Ambassador

Javier Efraín Bú

Soto

Embassy of Honduras

1220 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 699-7702 | Email: embassy@hondurasemb.org

Javier Efraín Bu Soto became the new Honduran ambassador to the United States on Dec. 12, 2022, representing his country’s first female president in history, Xiomara Castro.

Bu, who had served as chargé d’affaires since February 2022, was first assigned to Washington in 2009 as legal attaché, during a time of grave political crisis following the removal of then-President Manuel Zelaya, in what was widely condemned as a military coup d’état.

Previously, Bu worked in the private sector as managing director of Group BG, where he managed State Farm and other insurance franchises in the Washington DC metro area. Before that, he was a public servant in Honduras—first as a law clerk at the nation’s Supreme Court, and later for the Institute of Property’s land title division, where he worked on a World Bank-funded program on issuance of rural land titles.

Bu has a dual master’s degree from Washington’s American University in law and government, and in international business law. He also has a J.D. from the Technological University of Central America (UNITEC) in Tegucigalpa. He is fluent in English and Spanish.

Embassy of Hungary

3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 362-6730 | Email: info.was@mfa.gov.hu

Szabolcs Takács, born in Budapest in 1971, is Hungary’s ambassador to the US.

Takács has a bachelor’s degree in English language and literature from Croatia’s University of Zagreb (1999), and master’s degrees in political science, European studies and law, and international relations (2002) from Hungary’s University of Pécs.

Takács joined Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2002. His first assignment was in the Asia-Pacific department, where he was a desk officer for Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, China, India and the Korean Peninsula.

Ambassador

Szabolcs Takács

From 2005 to 2009, he was deputy head of mission at Hungary’s embassy in Qatar, then held various jobs within the Office of the Deputy State Secretary; among his responsibilities were security policy, Asia-Pacific affairs, EU affairs and global affairs. In 2019, he became the ministerial commissioner for Brexit, a post he held until his current assignment in Washington.

MAHATMA GANDHI STATUE

Embassy of India

Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948) was an Indian lawyer, politician, social activist, and a leading figure in India’s independence movement against British rule. He devoted his life and work to serve and uplift the downtrodden, and was one of the most influential and significant figures of the 20th century.

Located at 2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008

Photos: Austin Tolchin

Ellertsdóttir

Embassy of Iceland

2900 K Street NW, Suite #509, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 265-6653 | Email: washington@mfa.is

Career diplomat Bergdís Ellertsdóttir—born in 1962 and the mother of four children—has been Iceland’s ambassador to the US since 2019.

She studied political science, English and history at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Heidelberg, Germany (1983-85), and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in English from the University of Iceland in Reykjavik (1985-87). Ellertsdóttir went on to earn her master’s degree in European studies from England’s University of Essex (1988-89).

Ellertsdóttir began her diplomatic career as first secretary in the trade department of Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1991-95), later becoming deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Iceland in Bonn, Germany (1995-98).

From 1998 to 2000, she was a political officer at NATO headquarters in Brussels, then became deputy director of the Iceland Foreign Ministry’s political department (2000-03).

Later, Ellertsdóttir became foreign affairs advisor to the prime minister (2005-06); deputy secretary-general of the European Free Trade Association in Brussels (2007-12); chief negotiator for the Iceland-China free trade agreement (2012); head of Iceland’s mission to the EU (201418), and finally permanent representative of Iceland to the UN in New York (2018-19).

Embassy of India

2107 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 939-7000 | Email: psamb.washington@mea.gov.in

Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India’s ambassador to the US since February 2020, has served in Washington twice before. The 34-year veteran of the Indian Foreign Service was the embassy’s deputy chief of mission from 2013 to 2017, and congressional liaison from 1997 to 2000.

Prior to his current stint in Washington, Sandhu was India’s high commissioner to Sri Lanka (2017-20). Earlier, he had headed the commission’s political wing (2000-04).

Born in 1963, Sandhu graduated with history honors from St. Stephens’ College in Delhi, and later a master’s degree in international relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He began his diplomatic career at the Indian Embassy in Moscow (1990-92). Following the Soviet Union’s breakup, he was sent to open a new embassy in Ukraine; he led that mission’s political and administrative wings in Kyiv from 1992 to 1994.

Sandhu

In addition to various assignments within the Ministry of External Affairs, Sandhu was with India’s permanent mission to the UN in New York (2005-09) and consul-general of India in Frankfurt (2011-13). Sandhu and his wife, Reenat—a secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs— have two children.

Embassy of Indonesia

2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 775-5200 | Email: washington.kbri@kemlu.go.id

Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, born in Jakarta in 1968, became Indonesia’s ambassador to the US in October 2021.

Prior to this assignment, Roeslani chaired the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (2015-21). Earlier in his career, he was financial advisor to the Association of Indonesian Batik Cooperation (1997-2002) and deputy treasurer of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (2005-08).

Ambassador

Roeslani

Chargé

As a leader in the private sector representative, Roeslani was chief of the Indonesian Omnibus Law on Job Creation Task Force and the chairman of that National Board of Arbitration’s advisory board (2019-2021). He’s also vice-chairman of the Indonesian Sharia Economic Society’s Courtesy Board. Roeslani headed Indonesia’s contingent for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics and was vicechairman of the COVID-19 Response and National Economic Recovery Committee (2020-21). He is also chairman of the Indonesian Weightlifting Association/PABSI since 2015.

The ambassador has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Oklahoma State University (1988-92) and an MBA from European University in Antwerp, Belgium (1993-94). He is married with three children.

Embassy of Iraq

3421 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 742-1600 | Email: info@iraqiembassy.us

Embassy of Ireland

2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 462-3939

Geraldine Byrne Nason became Ireland’s 19th ambassador to the US in August 2022, replacing Daniel Mulhall, who had served in the job since 2017.

A native of Drogheda in Ireland’s County Louth, Byrne Nason holds an honorary doctorate of law degree from Maynooth University, as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees in literature from Saint Patrick’s College in Maynooth.

Byrne Nason, a passionate advocate of human rights and gender equality, joined the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs in 1981. From 2005 to 2011 she served as Ireland’s deputy permanent representative, and later ambassador, to the EU.

As second secretary-general in the Department of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) from 2011 to 2014, she ranked as the highest-ranking female public servant in Ireland. In 2014, she was inducted into the Royal Irish Academy, Ireland’s highest academic honor.

Byrne Nason was Irish ambassador to France (2014-17), and from 2017 until her current posting, she represented Ireland at the United Nations, where she led a successful campaign to win a seat for Ireland on the UN Security Council. Byrne Nason and her husband, Bryan Nason—a retired former diplomat who was Ireland’s ambassador to Belgium and NATO—have one son.

Ambassador

Geraldine Byrne Nason

ISRAEL

Ambassador

Michael Herzog

Embassy of Israel

3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 364-5500 | Email: consular@washington.mfa.gov.il

Michael Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to the US since November 2021, is the son of Israel’s sixth president, Chaim Herzog, and brother of the current president, Yitzhak Herzog.

A retired IDF brigadier general, the ambassador has held senior positions in Israel’s Ministry of Defense from 2001 to 2009. Among his jobs: head of the IDF’s Strategic Planning Division (1998-2001), deputy head of the Strategic Planning Division (1995-98); member of the Intelligence Corps (1974-94); and infantry soldier (1973 Yom Kippur War).

Since 1993, Herzog has played a key role in the Arab-Israeli peace process, participating in the Wye Plantation summit, the Camp David talks, the Taba negotiations, the Annapolis summit and the 2013-14 peace talks led by Secretary of State John Kerry.

Prior to his nomination, Herzog was an international fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute.

A graduate of Israel’s prestigious National Defense College, Herzog received a bachelor’s degree from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a master’s from Haifa University. He and his wife, Shirin, a corporate lawyer, have two children.

Embassy of Italy

3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 612-4400 | Email: amb.washington@cert.esteri.it

Mariangela Zappia, Italy’s first female ambassador to the US, was also the first Italian woman ever to become permanent representative to NATO in Brussels (2014-16)—and the first woman to serve as Italy’s permanent representative at the United Nations in New York (2018-21).

Born in 1959, Zappia began her career at the Italian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal (1986-90), and at Italy’s consulate general in New York (1990-93). Serving also with the NATO media task force during the Kosovo conflict (1997-2000), Zappia coordinated major events under the Italian presidency of the G8 in 2009, including those focusing on violence against women.

Mariangela Zappia

Zappia holds master’s and post-graduate degrees in political science and international relations from the University of Florence. Fluent in English and French, and with a good knowledge of Spanish, Zappia has written widely on reforming the UN Security Council, and on Italy’s contribution to UN peacekeeping operations.

The mother of two daughters, Zappia belongs to the International Gender Champions Network. In 2019, the Fondazione Marisa Bellisario gave her its “Mela d’Oro” [Golden Apple] award for helping advance women’s rights in public institutions.

Embassy of Jamaica

1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 452-0660 | Email: ambassador@jamaicaembassy.org

Audrey Marks has been Jamaica’s ambassador to the US since 2016. It’s the second time in that role for Marks, who had that same job from 2010 to 2012—making her not only Jamaica’s first female ambassador in Washington, but the first ever to be assigned to the same post twice. Before becoming a diplomat, Marks established six companies including a 100-acre banana exporting farm, a transport firm and a real-estate venture. She’s best known for having founded Paymaster (Jamaica) Ltd., an online transaction agency.

Among other things, Marks has also served on several private and public-sector boards, and was the first female president of the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica. In 2000, she was nominated as Ernst & Young’s “Caribbean Entrepreneur of the Year.” Likewise, Florida International University named her “Business Leader of the Year” in 2003 and 2010. Marks holds bachelor’s degree in business from the University of the West Indies, and an MBA from Florida’s Nova University.

Ambassador

Ambassador Audrey Marks

Ambassador

Koji Tomita

Embassy of Japan

2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 238-6700 | Email: jicc@ws.mofa.go.jp

Koji Tomita, Japan’s ambassador to the US since February 2021, is a seasoned diplomat with 40 years of experience in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Most recently, Tomita served as Tokyo’s man in South Korea, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s personal representative at the G20 Summit in Osaka and as Japan’s ambassador to Israel (2015-18). His other overseas postings have included London (2006-09) and Paris (1997-99).

Tomita’s relationship with the United States began when he attended college in North Carolina for a year. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1981, he’s also held leadership positions in US-Japan relations, including director-general of the ministry’s North American Affairs Bureau (2013-15) and deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Washington (2012-13).

The ambassador and his wife, Noriko, have two daughters and a son. In his spare time, he writes, and has published two books in Japanese: Churchill: Leadership in Crisis and Margaret Thatcher: Iron Lady Who Changed Politics

Embassy of Jordan

3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 966-2664 | Email: hkjconsular@jordanembassyus.org

Dina Kawar has been Jordan’s ambassador to the US since 2016. For two years before that, she was the Hashemite Kingdom’s permanent representative to the United Nations, leading the Jordanian delegation during its non-permanent membership on the UN Security Council and becoming the first Arab woman ever to preside over that body.

She also helped organize a UN General Assembly meeting in September 2016 on the refugee and migrant crisis.

Ambassador

Dina Kawar

Prior to her position in New York, Kawar was Jordan’s ambassador to France (2001-13), with concurrent accreditation to UNESCO and the Holy See since 2002. She was also non-resident ambassadors to Portugal from 2005 to 2013.

Kawar has a master’s degree in international affairs from New York’s Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Mills College in Oakland, Calif. She also studied at Harvard’s Center for International Affairs (1986-87). Kawar speaks Arabic, French and English.

Embassy of Kazakhstan

1401 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 232-5488 | Email: washington@mfa.kz

Ashikbayev Yerzhan was named ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States in April 2021. The former Soviet republic is home to only 19 million people yet ranks as the world’s ninth-largest country by size.

Yerzhan graduated in 1998 from Al-Farabi Kazakh State National University with a bachelor’s degree in international relations. In 2012, Yerzhan earned a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Prior to his appointment in Washington, Ashikbayev spent eight years as Kazakhstan’s deputy foreign minister (2013-21) served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan (2013-2021).

Before becoming deputy minister, he was deputy head of the Prime Minister’s Office. In 2012-13, Yerzhan was chief of the Foreign Policy Centre of the Kazakhstan’s presidential administration. He speaks Russian, English, Turkish and French.

Ambassador Ashikbayev Yerzhan

PHILIP JAISOHN STATUE

Next to Embassy of Latvia

Philip Jaisohn was a Korean-American activist in the struggle for Korea’s independence.

MAJOR GENERAL FRIEDRICH WILHELM VON STEUBEN STATUE

Friedrich Wilhelm Von Steuben (1730 - 1794) was a Prussian military officer who played a significant role in the American Revolutionary war by reforming the Continental Army into a disciplined fighting force.

Located at 2306 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008

Located at Lafayette Park NW, Washington, DC

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Photo: Austin Tolchin

KOREA (SOUTH)

Ambassador

Lazarus O.

Amayo

Embassy of Kenya

2249 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 387-6101 | Email: information@kenyaembassydc.org

Lazarus O. Amayo has been Kenya’s ambassador to the US since May 2019. Prior to his current post, he was permanent representative to the UN, and before that, Kenya’s high commissioner to the UK. Amayo also represented Kenya at the International Maritime Organization and has held top positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was commissioner to Malawi and Zambia (2006-10), and high commissioner to India with concurrent accreditation to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Singapore (1999-2004).

Before becoming a diplomat, Amayo was CEO of Catering Levy Trustees and a member of parliament (1989-92) for the Karachuonyo constituency. He began as a teacher at Ogande Girls High School in 1979. Amayo has a BA from India’s Spicer Memorial College, and an MA in political science from the University of Delhi.

Amayo belongs to the Kenya Institute of Management and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Married with three children, he enjoys reading, tennis and chess.

Embassy of Korea (South)

2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 939-5600 | Email: generalusa@mofa.go.kr

Cho Tae-yong replaced Lee Soo-Hyuck as South Korea’s ambassador to the US in September 2022. A first-term lawmaker for the People Power Party where he serves on the parliamentary foreign affairs and unification committee, Cho has a 30-year diplomatic career and is an expert on both US-Korean ties and North Korean nuclear issues.

After joining the Foreign Ministry in 1980, he was Seoul’s chief negotiator in the defunct six-party talks on North Korean denuclearization, director-general of the North American Affairs Bureau, and eventually Seoul’s ambassador to Australia and Ireland.

His other posts include first vice-foreign minister (2014-15) and first deputy director of the Blue House National Security Office (2015-17) in the government of Park Geun-hye.

Cho earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Seoul National University and studied at England’s University of Oxford. He’s also taught at Yonsei University and at Tokyo’s Keio University.

Cho is the son-in-law of Lee Bum-suk, the foreign minister who died in a 1983 assassination attempt against President Chun Doo Hwan in Burma. The Rangoon bombing, blamed on North Korean agents, killed 17 South Koreans.

Embassy of Kosovo

2175 K Street NW, Suite #300, Washington, DC 20037 Tel: +1 202 450-2130 | Email: embassy.usa@rks-gov.net

Ilir Dugolli is Kosovo’s new ambassador to the US, replacing Vlora Çitaku. Formerly ambassador to Turkey, Dugolli was among the first diplomats to establish Kosovo’s missions abroad following the country’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008

A graduate of the University of Prishtinë, Dugolli also studied at Yale. From 2002 to 2004, he advised the prime minister in Kosovo’s first democratically elected government. He also served as a legal expert during the 2007-08 negotiations on Kosovo’s political status.

Upon independence in 2008, Dugolli was named to head Kosovo’s mission in Brussels as envoy to Belgium, NATO and the EU. From 2013 to 2016, he was posted to Stockholm as ambassador to Sweden, and non-resident ambassador to Norway, Finland, Iceland and the Baltic states.

In addition, Dugolli directed NATO and security policies at Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2017-19). He’s participated in various civil society initiatives including the Project on Ethnic Relations, the Kosovar Institute for Policy Research and Development (KIPRED), Democracy for Development (D4D) and the Kosovo-American Education Fund.

Ambassador Tae-yong Cho

KOSOVO Ambassador Ilir Dugolli

KYRGYZSTAN

Chargé d’affaires Hamad Al-Mekrad

Embassy of Kuwait

2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 966-0702 | Email: washington@mofa.gov.kw

Embassy of Kyrgyzstan

2360 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 449-9822 | Email: kgembassy.usa@mfa.gov.kg

Bakyt Amanbaev, Kyrgyzstan’s ambassador to the US since April 2021, was born in 1969 when the country was still a Soviet republic. In 1996, he graduated from Kyrgyz State National University, and in 1998 earned his MBA from the Bishkek International School of Business Management.

Amanbaev served as senior consultant for Jogorku Kenesh—a member of Parliament (200004)—and was also correspondent for Radio Azattky, the Kyrgyz-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Bishkek (2000-07).

In addition, Amban was director of the Kyrgyz State Broadcasting Company’s advertising and commercial agency (2005-07) and a senior lecturer of political science at Kyrgyz State National University (2005-08), where he completed post-graduate studies in 2010 as a candidate in political science. He also took courses at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2012, Amanbaev studied at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

Serving briefly as vice-mayor of the city of Osh in 2010, Amanbaev went on to become ombudsman of the republic (2013-15) and chief of staff of the Kyrgyz government (2020-21) before his current job.

KHALIL GIBRAN

Khalil Gibran (1883 - 1931) was a Lebanese-American poet, writer, essayist and artist, best known as the author of The Prophet, a book of prose poetry published in 1923.

Ambassador Bakyt Amanbaev

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Inphachanh

Embassy of Laos

2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 328-9148 | Email: embasslao@gmail.com

Sisavath Inphachanh became Laotian ambassador to the United States in May 2022

Inphachanh’s diplomatic career spans 33 years on behalf of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic—one of only five communist states left in the world. In 1989, he joined the Eastern Europe department of his country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in 1995 he served a two-year stint in its Asia-Pacific and Africa department.

Other postings included third secretary at the Laotian Embassy in Thailand (1997-2000); director of the Foreign Ministry’s Lao-Thai Affairs division and the Asia-Pacific and Africa department (2001-04); first secretary at the Laotian Embassy in Washington (2005-06) and principal secretary to the deputy prime minister and foreign minister (2006-12).

Inphachanh was named director-general of the Foreign Ministry’s consular department in 2013 and remained there until his posting as ambassador to Australia and New Zealand (2018-22). A graduate of Kiev State University in Ukraine (at that time still part of the Soviet Union) with a master’s degree in international relations; Inphachanh later received a second master’s degree in the same subject from Australia’s Wollongong University. He and his wife, Khamphan Inphachanh, have two children.

Embassy of Latvia

2306 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 328-2840 | Email: embassy.usa@mfa.gov.lv

Māris Selga became Latvia’s ambassador to the US in September 2019. Before this assignment, he was Latvia’s ambassador to China.

Selga joined the Latvian Foreign Service in 1994—three years after Latvian independence from the Soviet Union— where he held various positions including counselor at the Policy Planning Group, head of the Americas Division, counselor for security issues, director of the Second Political (Bilateral) Department and director-general of the Consular and Diplomatic Facilities Directorate.

Selga has previously been posted to Latvian missions in Denmark and the US. He was Latvia’s first residing ambassador in Egypt, with non-resident accreditation to Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. He was also an observer in both the African Union and the League of Arab States.

The ambassador is a graduate of the University of Latvia’s Faculty of History and Philosophy.

Embassy of Lebanon

2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Chargé d’affaires

Waël Hachem

Tel: +1 202 939-6300 | Email: info@lebanonembassyus.org

Ambassador

Tumisang

Mosotho

Embassy of Lesotho

2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 797-5533 | Email: lesothoembassy@verizon.net

Tumisang Mosotho is Lesotho’s new ambassador to the United States.

Before coming to Washington, Mosotho was chief delegate at the government’s Lesotho Highlands Water Commission, a binational body established under a treaty between Lesotho and South Africa—which completely surrounds the Maryland-sized kingdom. The commission oversees the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP).

Mosotho joined the LHWP as a delegate in 2018. During his tenure there, he developed a keen interest in the livelihoods and welfare of the communities displaced by the massive hydroelectric dam and tunnel project.

Before joining the commission, Mosotho had a distinguished career as an attorney in private practice. His main focus areas were personal injury claims, constitutional law and human rights. In 2013-14 he took a short break from private practice and served as senior private secretary to Lesotho’s then-prime minister, Tom Thabane.

Mosotho holds law degrees from the National University of Lesotho in the capital, Maseru. He is married with three children.

Embassy of Liberia

5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011

Tel: +1 202 723-0437 | Email: Amb.office@Liberianembassyus.org

Biography not available.

Ambassador

Dowana

Chargé d’affaires

Khaled Daief

Embassy of Libya

1460 Dahlia Street NW, Washington, DC 20012

Tel: +1 202 944-9601 | Email: info@embassyoflibyadc.com

Ambassador

Georg Sparber

Embassy of Liechtenstein

2900 K Street NW, Suite #602-B, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 331-0590 | Email: info@embassyli.org

With only 38,500 inhabitants in a territory the size of the District of Columbia, Liechtenstein is one of the world’s wealthiest countries on a per-capita basis.

Before becoming Liechtenstein’s ambassador to the US in 2021, Georg Sparber was his principality’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations in New York (2017-21), where his portfolio included disarmament, peace and security, and political issues.

From 2014 to 2016, Sparber served as deputy head of mission at Liechtenstein’s embassy in Vienna, with accreditation to Austria and the Czech Republic. He was also assigned to two Vienna-based bodies, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

From 2010 to 2014, Sparber was posted to Liechtenstein’s UN mission in New York, where he supervised development, human rights, global governance and elections. He joined the office of Foreign Affairs in 2009 after earning a doctorate in philosophy from Switzerland’s University of Lausanne, where he also finished graduate studies.

Sparber and his wife, Yvonne, have five children.

Embassy of Lithuania

2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 234-5860 | Email: amb.us@urm.lt

Audra Plepyté, Lithuania’s ambassador to the US since May 2021, earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degree in philosophy from Vilnius University, and a certificate in diplomatic studies from Oxford.

Plepyté began her diplomatic career in 1994 in the Multilateral Relations Division of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry. Over the next 20 years, she was posted to Copenhagen, New York and Brussels. She served as Lithuania’s ambassador to Spain (2010-14), director of the EU Department at the Foreign Ministry in Vilnius (2014-17) and permanent representative to the UN (2017-21) before taking up her current post in Washington.

Ambassador

Audra Plepyté

Plepyté recently used her embassy to inaugurate the bipartisan Friends of Belarus Congressional Caucus. Among the invited guests: Belarusian activist Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, widely regarded winner of her country’s August 2020 presidential elections. In 2024, the Lithuanian Embassy will celebrate 100 years of continuous operation.

“Even during Soviet times, we always regarded ourselves as occupied,” Plepyté said recently. “This embassy functioned the whole time thanks to the US non-recognition policy. That gave us hope that one day we’d be free.”

If you see an error or information that should be updated, email us at directory@washdiplomat.com.

We will update the information in our digital edition.

Ambassador

Nicole BintnerBakshian

Embassy of Luxembourg

2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 265-4171 | Email: washington.amb@mae.etat.lu

Nicole Bintner-Bakshian, ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to the United States, was born in Pétange—a town in southwestern Luxembourg—in 1970.

She studied at the University of Luxembourg, the European School of Management (EAP-ESCP) at Paris, Oxford and Berlin, and at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand.

In 1999, after early assignments in Vietnam, Pakistan and India, Bintner-Bakshian joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2000, she became deputy head of protocol and served for four years as a private secretary to the foreign minister before joining the Asian Development Bank in Manila, Philippines, as advisor to the executive board.

Bnitner-Bakshian returned to diplomatic service as deputy chief of mission in Beijing and Bangkok, until she was appointed Luxembourg’s first ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. In 2017, she set up her tiny country’s first embassy in Dakar, Senegal—also covering Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger—while also serving as Luxembourg’s special envoy to the Sahel region. Bintner-Bakshian is married and has two daughters. She speaks fluent German, French, English and Luxembourgish.

Embassy of Madagascar

2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 265-5525 | Email: contact@us-madagascar-embassy.org

Chargé d’affaires

Amielle Marceda

Embassy of Malawi

2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 721-0270 | Email: info@malawiembassy-dc.org

Esme Jynet Chombo began serving as Malawi’s ambassador to the US in June 2021. Before that, she spent 18 years at a judge with the High Court of Malawi (2003-21), also overseeing management of the High Court’s Lilongwe District Registry.

Chombo’s adjudication experience spans 28 years since she became a chief resident magistrate in 1986, supervising all magistrates with responsibility of all lower courts in Malawi’s Northern Region. From 1995 to 2002, Chombo was a company secretary for both Press Corp. Ltd. And Press Agriculture Ltd.

Chombo has also served on the Malawi Judicial Service Commission (1990-95) and was a council member for central and eastern Africa in the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association (1992-95). From 2008 to 2019, she chaired the Malawi Prison Service Commission as well as the country’s Special Law Commission on the Review of the Adoption of Children Act (2009-12).

Chombo holds a master’s degree in women’s law and human rights from the University of Zimbabwe (2008); a master’s in strategic management from England’s University of Derby (2001), and a bachelor of law degree from the University of Malawi (1986).

MALAWI Ambassador Justice Esme Chombo

BENITO JUÁREZ STATUE

Benito Juárez (1806 - 1872) was a Mexican politician, lawyer, and the 26th president of Mexico. Juárez is regarded as a national hero who fought foreign occupation under the emperor Maximilian.

Located at Virginia Avenue and New Hampshire Avenue NW Washington, DC 20037

Embassy of Malaysia

3516 International Court NW, Washington DC 20008

Chargé d’affaires

Fairuz Adli Mohd

Rozali

Tel: (202) 572-9700 | Email: mwwashington@kln.gov.my

Embassy of Mali

2130 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 332-2249 | Email: infos@mali.embassy.us

Sékou Berthe

Chargé d’affaires

Melanie Bonnici

Bennett

Sékou Berthe, Mali’s new ambassador to the United States, was formerly special counsel to the president from October 2021 until his current posting to Washington in June 2022. Berthe was formerly an associate professor and lecturer at the University of Law and Political Science in Bamako, the Malian capital. He also represented Amnesty International in Bamako, promoting education on human rights and advocating on behalf of imprisoned activists. He later worked as a law clerk in Bamako. In New York, he was an interpreter at Manhattan Family Court, as well as a law enforcement agent with New York City’s Sanitation Department. Berthe is the former chair of Mali’s Movement for Youth Rights, a delegate of the Malian Constitutional Court for supervising general elections, and a member of London-based Penal Reform International.

Berthe graduated from the University of Mali’s National School of Administration in 1995. He also holds a master’s degree in international relations from the City College of New York, as well as a PhD in international relations from the University of Ghana. The ambassador speaks fluent French, English and Mandingo.

Embassy of Malta

2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 530-9750 | Email: maltaembassy.washington@gov.mt

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Ambassador

Gerald M. Zackios

Embassy of the Marshall Islands

2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 234-5414 | Email: info@rmiembassyus.org

Gerald M. Zackios was appointed ambassador of the Marshall Islands to the US in 2016. The independent republic he represents—a Pacific archipelago of 59,000—exists in a Compact of Free Association with the United States since 1986.

In 1989, Zackios earned a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Papua New Guinea, then returned home as assistant attorney general. In 1992, he received a master’s from Malta’s International Maritime Law Institute. Following a series of promotions, he became attorney general in 1996, later winning a seat in the country’s Nitijela, or Parliament, in 1999.

From 2001 to 2007, Zackios was foreign minister; he served in the Nitijela until 2012. Among other things, he renegotiated the Marshall Islands’ Compact of Free Association in 2004. Following an unsuccessful reelection bid to the Nitijela in 2011, Zackios started his own law firm. In 2013, he became regional director for the Pacific Community in Pohnpei, Micronesia, retaining that post until his current appointment.

Zackios and his wife, Viola, have nine children. His hobbies include fishing, gardening, tennis and basketball.

Embassy of Mauritania

2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 232-5700 | Email: info@mauritaniaembassy-usa.org

Cissé Mint Cheikh Ould Boide, born in 1970, has been Mauritania’s ambassador to the US since March 2021. Before that, she was Mauritania’s permanent representative to UNESCO in Paris (2019-21).

From 2014-2018 Mrs. Boide worked as an international consultant in the policy and strategy field as well as management, project evaluation and sustainable development.

She served as Mauritania’s minister of culture, youth and sports (2009-13) and president of the country’s National Education, Science and Culture Commission. From 2002 to 2009, she held various positions within Mauritania’s Ministry of Commerce, Craft and Tourism, helping to publicize the North African country as a tourist destination.

Boide earned a bachelor’s degree in tourism and hotel management from the International Institute of Tourism (ISIT) in Tangier, Morocco. She also earned advanced degrees from the University of Lille, France.

The ambassador has in-depth knowledge of computer science, programming, configuration, modeling and development of internet-based systems. She speaks French, Arabic, Spanish and English, is married and has a son.

Embassy of Mauritius

1709 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 244-1491 | Email: washingtonemb@govmu.org

Purmanund Jhugroo, ambassador of Mauritius to the US, is a former member of Parliament and the country’s former minister of housing and lands.

Born in 1960 in Holyrood Vacoas, Jhugroo is a pharmacist by profession and belongs to the island’s Medical Council, its Dental Council, its Pharmacy Board and its trust fund for specialized medical care. He’s also a member of the Mauritius Oceanographic Institute. Since 1983, he’s belonged to the center-left, Hindu-dominated Militant Socialist Movement (MSM)— the largest single party in the National Assembly of Mauritius. Jhugroo was mayor of Vacoas/ Phoenix (1991-93), a member of the Politbureau since 1997, and MSM’s treasurer since 2005.

From 2002 to 2005, Jhugroo was general manager of the Outer Islands Development Corp. and has been a member of the Mauritius Parliament since 2005.

Ambassador Cissé Mint

Cheikh Ould Boide

Ambassador Purmanund Jhugroo

Akillino Harris Susaia

Embassy of Mexico

1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006

Tel: +1 202 728-1600 | Email: mexembusa@sre.gob.mx

Esteban Moctezuma, Mexico’s ambassador to the US since February 2021, has a long history of public service.

Among his many government posts, Moctezuma was secretary of administration for the state of Sinaloa (1982-87); chief administrative officer at the Secretariat of Programming and Budget (1988-92); chief administrative officer at the Secretariat of Public Education (199293); undersecretary of educational planning and coordination (1993-94); secretary of interior (1994-95); federal senator of the republic (1997-98) and secretary of social development (199899), and secretary of public education (2018-21).

Moctezuma is active in numerous civic causes, including Fundación Azteca, Bicentennial Generation Scholarships , the “Limpiemos nuestro México” campaign, the National Institute of Public Health and the National Council to Prevent Discrimination.

Moctezuma has a degree in economics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and a master’s in economic development from England’s University of Cambridge.

In a January 2022 newspaper interview, Moctezuma claimed that Mexico “does not work for the US” when it comes to protecting Central American migrants seeking refuge in the United States.

Embassy of Micronesia

1725 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 223-4383 | Email: dcmission@fsmembassy.fm

Since 2016, Akillino Harris Susaia has represented his country, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), as ambassador in Washington.

Susaia attended Kapiolani Community College in Honolulu (1980-82), Fiji’s University of the South Pacific (1982-84) and the University of Hawaii-Manoa (1989-90) before coming to the University of Oregon, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1990, and a master’s in public administration in 1993. But he began his government career in 1978 as an aide in the Ponhpei state legislature (1978-88), moving on to budget officer (1988-96) and finally general manager of the Pohnpei Port Authority (1996-2000).

Susaia was Micronesia’s first resident ambassador to China (2010-15). Before that, he was consul general for the state of Hawaii (2008-10)—home to many Micronesians thanks to the Compact of Free Association, which allows FSM residents to enter the US without a visa. Among other things, Susaia has chaired the Pohnpei Visitors Bureau board of directors as well as that of the National Fisheries Corp. He and his wife, Mihpel, have two sons and two daughters.

Embassy of Moldova

2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 667-1130 | Email: washington@mfa.gov.md

Ursu Viorel became Moldova’s ambassador to the US in September 2022, taking over from Eugen Caras. Born in 1975, Viorel graduated from the Romanian-French Lyceum in Chisinau, and attended the State University of Moldova (1992-97), where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in law. He also has a master’s in European studies—with a specialization in EU law—from the College of Europe’s Institute of Postgraduate European Studies in Bruges, Belgium.

Viorel began as a trainee in the International Law and Treaties Department of Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1996-97), and was then a lecturer at the law faculty of the State University of Moldova (1997-2002).

From 1998 to 2003, Viorel was an advisor and program manager for the nonprofit Soros Foundation, and later a senior analyst at the Open Society European Policy Institute in Brussels (2003-14). From there, he moved to London, where he was division director for Europe and Eurasia at the Open Society Foundation (2014-22).

Viorel speaks Romanian, French, English and Russian.

Ambassador

Ambassador Viorel Ursu

Doyle

Embassy of Monaco

888 17th Street NW, Suite #500, Washington, DC 20006

Tel: +1 202 234-1530 | Email: info@monacodc.org

Maguy Maccario Doyle was appointed by Prince Albert II as ambassador to the US in 2013, representing her wealthy two-square-kilometer principality of 39,000 in Washington.

Maccario began her US career with the Monaco Government Tourist Office in New York in 1976 and became director for North America in 1994. In 1995 Prince Rainier III appointed her as consul of Monaco in New York, then consul general in 1997—making her the first Monégasque woman worldwide to hold that position.

In 2008, Maccario was named vice-president of the Prince Albert II of Monaco FoundationUSA and has since spearheaded many fundraising and awareness partnerships with, among others, Travel+Leisure magazine, Chicago’s Field Museum, Disney, Tesla, Alliance Française and New York’s American Museum of Natural History.

Maccario vigorously supports various humanitarian causes. In 1998, she was awarded a gold medal from ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in acknowledgement of her services and has, since 2004, served on its professional advisory board. In 2011 she was appointed to ALSAC’s International Advisory Council.

Embassy of Mongolia

2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 333-7117 | Email: washington@mfa.gov.mn

Batbayar Ulziidelger, Mongolia’s ambassador to the US since December 2021, was formerly an advisor to the prime minister on foreign policy and cooperation.

Previously, he spent 20 years in the private sector as director, founder and CEO of various tourism, technology and consulting companies. Among other things, Ulziidelger helped develop the “Travel Responsibly” national campaign. He also assisted in formulating “Vision 2050”— Mongolia’s long-term development policy—and founded the Mongolian Akita Dog Association.

In 2016, Ulziidelger received Mongolia’s Order of the Polar Star; five years later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs named him cultural envoy of Mongolia.

Ulziidelger received a bachelor’s degree in English from Mongolia’s Seruuleg University in 1994. He also got another bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the Mongolian University of Science and Technology in 1998, and an MBA from the same school in 2000. In addition, he’s completed courses in Japan and China on business administration, corporate governance and international cooperation.

A karate enthusiast, Ulziidelger is married with two children. He speaks English, Japanese and Russian.

Embassy of Montenegro

1610 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 234-6108 | Email: nebojsa.kaludjerovic@mfa.gov.me

Charges d’affaires

Marija Stjepčević

Ambassador Batbayar Ulziidelger

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Washington,

Ambassador

Princess Lalla

Joumala Alaoui

Embassy of Morocco

3508 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 462-7979 | Email: washingtonembmorocco@maec.gov.ma

Princess Lalla Joumala Alaoui took office as Morocco’s ambassador to the US in October 2016. Born in 1962, Lalla Joumala is the daughter of Princess Lalla Fatim Zahra and Prince Moulay Ali. Lalla Fatima Zohra was the eldest daughter of King Mohammad V and halfsister to then-king Hassan II, making her a cousin of current ruler Mohammad VI. Her aunt, Princess Lalla Aicha, was the world’s first female Arab ambassador, serving in the UK from 1965 to 1969.

Lalla Joumala attended Lycée Descartes in Rabat, later earning a degree in politics and history from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.

Lalla Joumala served for a time as an executive at Bank Al Maghrib, then was an attaché at Morocco’s mission to the UN in New York (1999-2000). The founder of the MoroccanBritish Society, she was Morocco’s ambassador to Britain before her current assignment in Washington.

Lalla Joumala and her husband, Muhammad Reza Nouri Esfandiari, have one daughter.

Embassy of Mozambique

1525 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 293-7146 | Email: washington.dc@embamoc.gov.mz

Before his current appointment as Mozambique’s ambassador to the US, Carlos dos Santos served as his country’s top envoy to the United Kingdom (2011-15), where he was voted “Best Diplomat of the Year” in 2013. Prior to that, he spent five years as Mozambique’s ambassador to Germany (2006-11).

Ambassador

Carlos dos Santos

Chargé d’affaires

Thet Win

His long and distinguished career includes stints as director for Europe and the Americas at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2005-06), advisor to the president (2003-05), and permanent representative to the United Nations (1996-2002). Dos Santos was the president’s private secretary (1992-96), chief of cabinet of the minister of foreign affairs (1991-92) and head of the political department at the ministry’s Africa and Middle East division.

Dos Santos holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Zimbabwe, and an MBA from the City University of New York’s Baruch College. He speaks Portuguese, English, Spanish and Ronga. He is married and has three children.

Embassy of Myanmar (Burma)

2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 332-3344 | Email: washington-embassy@mofa.gov.mm

Ambassador

Margaret Mensah-

Williams

Embassy of Namibia

1605 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 986-0540 | Email: info@namibiaembassyusa.org

Before becoming Namibia’s ambassador to the United States in 2020, Margaret MensahWilliams was the first woman in her country’s history to chair the National Council, the upper house of Namibia’s Parliament.

An advocate of gender equality and a campaigner against human trafficking and child abuse, Mensah-Williams was elected to the National Council in 1998. There, she headed several committees including the Women’s Caucus, Standing Rules and Orders, and Privileges and Immunities.

In 2014, she became president of the Women’s Coordinating Committee of the InterParliamentary Union (IPU); during the 137th IPU Assembly in Russia, she was elected vice-chair of the IPU Working Group on Syria. In 2018, she became the first woman and African to co-chair the Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization (PCWTO).

Fluent in English and Afrikaans, Mensah-Williams has an MBA from the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute, as well as a diploma in negotiating skills from the Institute of Management and Leadership Training, and a diploma in housing and community development from the University of Cape Town.

Embassy of Nepal

2730 34th Place NW, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 667-4550 | Email: info@nepalembassyusa.org

Sridhar Khatri, born in 1953, became Nepal’s ambassador to the United States in April 2022. Khatri coordinated a high-level task force, “Reorienting Nepal’s Foreign Policy in a Rapidly Changing World” (2017-18) and before that, he was executive director of the South Asia Centre for Policy Studies in Kathmandu (2005-12).

Ambassador

Sridhar Khatri

Among other things, Khatri helped his government prepare to host the 11th SAARC Summit in 2001. From 1990 to 2000, Khatri was regional editor of the journal Contemporary South Asia. Katri advised Nepal’s mission during the UN General Assembly in both 1973 and 1983; early in his career he was also private secretary to Nepalese Prime Minister Tulsi Giri (1975-77).

Khatri has degrees from City College of New York (1970-73) and Columbia University’s School of International Affairs (1973-75). A visiting scholar at the London School of Economics (1989-90), he also taught political science and other courses at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan University for over 27 years.

Khatri and his wife, Sarita, have a daughter and son. Fluent in Nepali, English and Hindi, the ambassador likes to play tennis, golf and squash.

CULTURAL TOURISM DC&

Ambassador

André Haspels

Embassy of the Netherlands

4200 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 244-5300

André Haspels, born in 1962, has represented the Netherlands as ambassador to the US since 2019. The son of a flower importer and trader, Haspels earned a degree in political science from Amsterdam’s Vrije Universiteit in 1986 and a year later joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His first overseas posting was as a policy officer at the Dutch Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka (198890), later becoming press secretary to Piet Dankert, the minister for European affairs (1990-92).

In 1997, Haspels became head of the political department at the Royal Dutch Embassy in Pretoria, where among other things he helped set up the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He then headed the External Affairs Division of the Foreign Ministry’s European Integration Department (2000-05), where among other things he was involved with his country’s 2004 presidency of the EU. Haspels later served as ambassador in Vietnam (2005-08) and South Africa (2011-14), where he was also accredited to Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana. Haspels and his wife, Bernie Grootenboer, have four children.

Embassy of New Zealand

37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 328-4800 | Email: wshinfo@mfat.govt.nz

Bede Gilbert Corry became New Zealand’s ambassador to the US in September 2022, replacing Rosemary Banks. Prior to this post he was high commissioner to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.

Born in 1964, Corry graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Victoria University in Wellington. His most significant posts in the New Zealand Public Service including deputy chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; deputy secretary of the same ministry; deputy secretary at the Ministry of Defense, and ambassador to Thailand.

Ambassador

Bede Corry

Corry has also served as director of the Australia division; director of the chief executive’s office; counselor at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, and private secretary to the foreign minister. He has also served at the New Zealand High Commission in Canberra, Australia.

Embassy of Nicaragua

1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 939-6570 | Email: mperalta@cancilleria.gob.ni

Francisco Obadiah Campbell Hooker has been Nicaragua’s ambassador to the US since 2010. His wife, Miriam Hooker, works at the Nicaraguan consulate, also in Washington. Born in the Atlantic coastal city of Bluefields, Campbell earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1974 and a master’s in international relations in 1975, both from the University of Hawaii.

From 1976 to 1978, he was a sociology professor at the Autonomous University of Nicaragua. An activist in the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), Campbell joined the government service following the overthrow of the Somoza regime in 1979.

Ambassador

Francisco

Obadiah Campbell Hooker

He served as deputy chief of mission at the Nicaraguan Embassy in Washington (1982-86) and ambassador to Zimbabwe (1986-90), during the time Zimbabwe held the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement.

After the Sandinistas’ defeat in the 1990 presidential elections, Campbell left the government to focus on domestic issues. In 1990, he established the Foundation for the Autonomy and Development of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, with which he has been involved ever since.

Ambassador

Kiari LimanTinguiri

Embassy of Niger

2204 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 483-4224 | Email: communication@embassyofniger.org

Kiari Liman-Tinguiri, born in 1953 in the southern Nigerien town of Gouré, has been Niger’s ambassador to the US in December 2021.

Liman-Tinguiri began his higher education at Belgium’s University de Liege in Belgium, and received his master’s degree and a PhD in economics, followed by a post-doctoral research degree in international development from the Université Nancy in France.

In 1999, Liman-Tinguiri joined the United Nations as a regional economic advisor in charge of economic issues and social policies with the UNICEF regional office for West and Central Africa, later becoming senior program officer with UNICEF in Pretoria, South Africa. He then served as the agency’s representative to Algeria (2001-04) and Syria (2004-06).

Transferring to the UN Development Program, he served as the UNDP’s resident representative in Equatorial Guinea (2006-09) and the South American nation of Guyana (2009-11). He returned to New York as a police and practice senior advisor for UNICEF before founding IEDAS, an international development focused consultancy based in Ottawa.

Liman-Tinguiri is fluent in English and French. He and his wife have three children.

Embassy of Nigeria

3519 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 800-7201 | Email: info@nigeriaembassyusa.org

Uzoma Emenike became Nigeria’s first-ever female ambassador to the United States in May 2021, following her posting to Ireland with concurrent accreditation to Iceland from 2017 to 2021.

Ambassador

Uzoma Emenike

Emenike joined the Nigerian Foreign Service in 1987, serving variously in the protocol, Africa and training departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For six years, she was posted to the Nigerian Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (1992-98). In 2002, Emenike left the Foreign Service for the private sector, working among other things as a management consultant. Emenike has earned two bachelor’s degrees, three master’s degrees, and a doctorate— mostly in the fields of sociology, anthropology, international law and diplomacy.

A longtime philanthropist, Emenike supports numerous women—particularly widows and the elderly— as well as indigent youths through her family’s Emenike Foundation. She and her husband, Chief Ikechi Emenike, have four children.

Embassy of North Macedonia

2129 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 667-0501 | Email: washington@mfa.gov.mk

Zoran Popov became North Macedonia’s ambassador to the US in August 2022, immediately after serving for three years as a state secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Skopje.

A senior member of the Foreign Service, Popov spent most of his carrier in the ministry’s European Union Directorate. As such, he helped draft vital documents in his country’s integration negotiations, as well as its visa liberalization talks with the EU.

From 2003 to 2008, he served as a diplomat at the Macedonian mission to the EU in Brussels. And from September 2016 to October 2019, he was a senior political advisor at the Regional Cooperation Council in Sarajevo, where he pushed for political cooperation among member states of the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP). In that capacity, he also promoted Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkan countries and lent political support to the Multi-Annual Action Plan on Regional Economic Integration (MAP REA).

Popov has a master’s degree in international relations from London’s University of Westminster. In addition, he’s completed a series of training courses on European integration and the EU accession negotiations process.

NORTH MACEDONIA

Ambassador Zoran Popov

Ambassador

Anniken Krutnes

Embassy of Norway

2720 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 333-6000 | Email: emb.washington@mfa.no

Anniken Krutnes is the Washington-based ambassador of Norway, which established its first embassy here in 1905. Strong ties bind the two countries; after all, between 1825 and 1940, more than a third of Norway’s population emigrated to America.

An expert in security policy, maritime and Arctic issues, Krutnes has been with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1994. In her previous position, she served as deputy director-general of the Department of Security Policy. Before that, she was Norway’s ambassador for Arctic and Antarctic affairs.

Krutnes has been posted to several European countries, and was ambassador to the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Krutnes holds a master of laws degree from the University of Oslo, and a master of science in economics and administration from the Norwegian School of Economics. She also studied international management at Italy’s Universittá Luigi Bocconi in Milan. Krutnes is married and has three children.

Embassy of Oman

2535 Belmont Road NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 387-1980 | Email: washington@fm.gov.om

Moosa Hamdan Al Tai has represented the Sultanate of Oman in Washington as ambassador since 2020. Previously, he was chief of the West Asia department at Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2019-20) and strategic director of the National Defense College in Muscat (2016-19).

From 2013 to 2016, Al Tai was chief of the international cooperation department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and from 2009 to 2013 he was Oman’s ambassador to Morocco, with accreditation to Mauritania, Mali and the Central African Republic.

Ambassador Moosa Hamdan

Al Tai

Al Tai was Oman’s ambassador to South Korea (2001-09), and before that, deputy chief of the economic cooperation department at the Foreign Ministry (1999-2001). Before that, he was a delegate at the Omani mission to the United Nations in New York (1993-98), and second secretary in the political section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (I989-93).

Al Tai earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1989, and a master’s in strategic studies from Oman’s Sultan Qaboos University (2016). Al Tai is fluent in Arabic and English.

Embassy of Pakistan

3517 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 243-6500 | Email: consularsection@embassyofpakistanusa.org

Masood Khan, born in Rawalakot in 1951, was appointed Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States in February 2022. He replaced Asad Majeed Khan, who had the job for over three years. Masood Khan was formerly the president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir from August 2016 to August 2021. Prior to his role as president, he was the director general of a Pakistani think tank, the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad.

In his earliest diplomatic career, he held foreign positions in China, the Netherlands, and the United States. He was the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2005. His ambassadorial career began in 2005, when he was named Pakistan’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland for three years. Then he represented Pakistan in China from 2008 to 2012 and served as ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations in New York from 2012 to 2015. Representing Pakistan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council from 2012 to 2013, he became the President of the Council in January 2013.

Khan holds a master’s degree in English and initially began his career as a Pakistan Television host and radio newscaster. His interests include nuclear diplomacy, South multilateral diplomacy and international humanitarian, and others.

PAKISTAN Ambassador Sardar Masood Khan

MIGUEL GRAU

Embassy of Peru

Miguel Grau (1834 - 1879), considered the greatest naval hero in Peruvian history, led his country to victory during the War of the Pacific.

Embassy of Palau

BRIGADIER GENERAL THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO

Thaddeus Kosciuszko was a Polish general and military hero who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He is considered a national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and the United States.

1701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite #200, Washington, DC 20006

Tel: +1 202 349-8598 | Email: info@palauembassy.org

Hersey Kyota, who’s been Palau’s ambassador to the US since 1997, is the dean of the Washington diplomatic corps. He assumed that largely ceremonial title in 2015 upon the death of Djibouti’s ambassador, Roble Olhaye.

Palau, a Pacific chain of 340 islands, is home to about 18,000 people. A presidential republic in free association with the United States, its legislative power is concentrated in the bicameral Palau National Congress, where Kyota served as a senator from 1990 to 1996. He was also on the board of directors for the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures (1992-96).

Ambassador Hersey Kyota

Prior to his position as a senator, Kyota worked as a legal researcher (1981-84) and then chief clerk (1985-88) for the House of Delegates, followed by the director’s position at the House Legal Counsel’s Office (1989-90).

Born in 1953, Kyota earned a bachelor’s degree in 1977 and a master’s in 1979, both from United States International University in San Diego. In 2000, the ambassador chaired Palau’s delegation to the UN during the Millennium Summit. He and his wife have six children.

Embassy of Panama

2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 483-1407 | Email: info@embassyofpanama.org

Corporate attorney Ramón Eduardo Martínez de la Guardia presented his credentials in September 2022 as Panama’s ambassador to the US, following his appointment to the job by President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen.

Martínez graduated from Colegio Javier in 1994, obtained a bachelor’s degree in law and political science from Panama’s Universidad Católica Santa María la Antigua (2000) and later a master’s in corporate law from the University of Minnesota Law School (2002).

Martínez has 17 years of experience in commercial and corporate law, advising local and foreign companies in the areas of retail and wholesale trade, free zones, international branding, real estate and finance. Before his current position, Martínez served as Panama’s minister of commerce and industry.

In a recent interview, Martínez said his chief priorities as ambassador would be to remove Panama from the US Financial Action Task Force’s so-called “gray list” of tax havens and promote his country as a manufacturing hub, while working with Washington on key issues such as climate change and illegal immigration.

PANAMA

Ambassador Ramón Martínez

Located at 1700 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Located at Madison Place NW, Washington, DC 20005

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Photo: Austin Tolchin

PHILIPPINES

Embassy of Papua New Guinea

1825 K Street NW, Suite #1010, Washington, DC 20006

Tel: +1 202 745-3680 | Email: info@pngembassy.org

Chargé d’affaires

Cephas Kayo

Ambassador José Antonio Dos Santos

Chargé d’affaires Irving

Embassy of Paraguay

2209 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 483-6960 | Email: eeuuembaparsc@mre.gov.py

José Antonio Dos Santos, born in 1964, was appointed Paraguay’s ambassador to the US in June 2021. Before his current post, he was Paraguay’s vice minister of foreign affairs (2019-21).

A career diplomat, Dos Santos joined the Foreign Ministry in 1992 as a legal advisor to the vice minister and has held several positions there, including director-general of consular affairs (1999-2001); vice minister (2006-09); director-general of multilateral policy (2015-19). His overseas postings include those of consul general in New York (1993-97); chargé d’affaires at Paraguay’s embassy in Ottawa, Canada (1997-98); consul general in Los Angeles (2002-06); and permanent representative at the United Nations in New York (200914), where he chaired the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries.

Dos Santos has a law degree from the National University of Asunción and a master’s degree in international law from Washington’s American University. Fluent in Spanish and English, he is married with two children.

Embassy of Peru

1700 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 833-9860 | Email: webadmin@embassyofperu.us

Embassy of the Philippines

1600 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 467-9300 | Email: admin@phembassy-us.org

José Manuel “Babe” del Gallego Romualdez has been ambassador of the Philippines to the US since 2017. Before that, Romualdez was a special envoy of the Philippine president to the United States.

A Manila native, Romualdez earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from De La Salle College in 1970. Among other things, he was CEO of Stargate Media Corp. and publisher of People Asia magazine, an affiliate of the Philippine Star, for which he still writes columns. He was also president of the Manila Overseas Press Club and vicepresident of the Rotary Club of Manila, and is an avid golfer.

On Nov. 29, 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte conferred the Order of Sikatuna, with the rank of Datu (Grand Cross), Gold Distinction on Romualdez for strengthening longstanding bilateral ties, for deepening the US-Philippine economic relationship, and specifically for procuring 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna.

Ambassador José Manuel “Babe” del Gallego Romualdez

Ambassador Marek Magierowski

Embassy of Poland

2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 499-1700 | Email: washington.amb.sekretariat@msz.gov.pl

Marek Magierowski, born in 1971, is Poland’s new ambassador to the US, replacing Piotr Wilczek. Magierowski graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan with a degree in Hispanic studies. He worked as a reporter, editor and columnist for over 20 years and was deputy head of the economic desk at Gazeta Wyborcza, head of the foreign affairs desk and the business section at Newsweek Polska, and deputy editor-in-chief of Forum.

From 2006 to 2011, Magierowski was deputy editor-in-chief of Rzeczpospolita, and regularly wrote columns on foreign policy for the Uważam Rze and Do Rzeczy weeklies.

In October 2015, Magierowski left journalism to work for the chancellery of the president as an expert on public diplomacy, and was subsequently appointed head of the chancellery’s press office.

From June 2017 to May 2018, Magierowski served as undersecretary of state at the Foreign Ministry, and Poland’s ambassador to Israel from June 2018 to November 2021.

Embassy of Portugal

2012 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 350-5400 | Email: info.washington@mne.pt

Francisco António Duarte Lopes is Portugal’s new ambassador to the United States, replacing Domingos Fezas Vital, who had served in Washington since 2015.

Born in Castelo Branco, Portugal, Duarte Lopes holds a law degree from the Faculdade de Direito de Lisboa. He began his professional service as an attaché in the Foreign Ministry’s Consular Section in 1989, before being posted to Pakistan (1993-95) and later to Portugal’s embassy in Denmark as chargé d’affaires (1995-2000).

He headed the ministry’s human resources unit (2000-02), was advisor to Portugal’s secretary of state for European affairs (2002-03), and then became director for institutional affairs at the Foreign Ministry (2003-04). From 2005 to 2009, Duarte Lopes coordinated Portugal’s mission to the EU in Brussels, later becoming diplomatic advisor to the prime minister (2009-11).

From 2012 to 2015, Duarte Lopes held various positions at the Foreign Ministry and was finally promoted to the rank of ambassador in 2015. He served as Portugal’s permanent representative to the UN in New York (2017-22) before assuming his current position.

Embassy of Qatar

2555 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 Tel: +1 202 274-1600 | Email: info.dc@mofa.gov.qa

Qatar’s ambassador to the US, Meshal bin Hamad Al-Thani, assumed his post in 2016. Before that, he was Qatar’s top envoy to France for three years.

Al-Thani began his diplomatic career in 1997 with the Foreign Ministry’s Department of European and American Affairs. He served at Qatar’s mission to the UN in New York (19982000) and at its embassy in Washington (2000-04), later becoming the Qatari liaison to NATO as a member of his country’s diplomatic mission in Brussels (2004-07).

From 2007 to 2011, Al-Thani was Qatar’s ambassador to Belgium, concurrently chairing the wealthy oil and gas-rich emirate’s mission to the European Union. A career member of Qatar’s Senior Foreign Service since 2009, Al-Thani served as Qatari permanent representative to the UN in New York from 2011 to 2013.

Al-Thani received his master’s in international relations from American University in 2004. He is married with three children.

Ambassador Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad

Ambassador

Andrei Muraru

Embassy of Romania

1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 332-4829 | Email: washington@mae.ro

Andrei Muraru, Romania’s ambassador to the US since July 2021, was born in 1982 and earned his BA, MA and PhD—all in history—from Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iași. For eight years, Muraru worked at the state-run Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (IICCMER), rising to executive president. In 2014, he began advising the head of Romania’s National Liberal Party, Klaus Iohannis; after Iohannis became president, Muraru remained as his senior advisor until moving to Washington.

Muraru was an Erasmus-Socrates student at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (2004-05), as well as a doctoral fellow at both New Europe College (2009-10) and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (2010-11). In 2020, he also received a postdoctoral fellowship at Israel’s Yad Vashem International Institute for Holocaust Research.

A prolific writer, Muraru is the author of “Vișinescu, the Forgotten Torturer” (2018), and has co-authored many other works about Romania’s communist past.

Embassy of Russia

2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 298-5700 | Email: rusembusa@mid.ru

Anatoly I. Antonov, born in 1955 in Omsk, is Russia’s ambassador in Washington.

In 1978, Antonov—who has a PhD in political science—graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was then named to various positions within the ministry and its foreign missions, including ambassador-at-large (2002-04); director of the ministry’s Department of Security and Disarmament, and member of the Russian Foreign Ministry Board (2004-11), and Russia’s deputy minister of defense (2011-16).

Ambassador

Anatoly I. Antonov

Antonov served briefly as Russia’s deputy foreign minister (2016-17), an appointment that ended when Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an executive order in August 2017 naming him ambassador to the United States.

Yet in the four years since his appointment, the US has expelled 300 Russian diplomats and their family members as bilateral relations have grown increasingly tense. In late January 2022, Antonov told journalists that he’d have to leave imminently if the situation does not improve.

Embassy of Rwanda

1714 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 232-2882 | Email: info@rwandaembassy.org

Mathilde Mukantabana has represented Rwanda as ambassador in Washington since July 2013. Before that, she was a tenured history professor at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, Calif. She is also co-founder and president of the Friends of Rwanda Association (FORA), a nonprofit created to support survivors of the 1994 genocide against her country’s ethnic Tutsis.

Fluent in English, French, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi, Mukantabana holds a bachelor’s degree in history and geography from the University of Burundi, as well as master’s degrees in social work and history from California State University in Sacramento.

In 1999, Mukantabana started the academic program of social work at the National University of Rwanda, and taught a variety of subjects there as an invited lecturer. She’s a board member of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies program at California’s Sonoma State University and belongs to many nonprofits include the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) and the Organization of African Leaders in Diaspora (OALD).

Gaylene Gilchrist

Embassy of St. Kitts & Nevis

1203 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 686-2636 | Email: stkittsnevis@embskn.com

Thelma Phillip-Browne is the US ambassador of 104-square-mile St. Kitts & Nevis, with 54,000 inhabitants the smallest independent nation in the Western Hemisphere.

One of eight siblings, Phillip-Browne graduated in 1978 with a medical degree from the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. She also has a diploma in dermatology science from the Cardiff University School of Medicine in Wales, and she did public health training at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

From 1994 until her appointment in Washington, Phillip-Browne ran a private dermatology clinic, serving also during that time as the country’s chief medical officer.

In 2011, Phillip-Browne obtained a master’s degree in theology from Indiana’s Anderson University. A lay preacher and member of the Women of the Church of God, she has also partnered with the local chapter of Child Evangelism Fellowship and has hosted a morning devotional program on WINN-FM in St. Kitts.

Phillip-Browne, also an athlete who represented St. Kitts in netball for many years, has two daughters, a son and two granddaughters.

Embassy of St. Lucia

1629 K Street NW, Suite #1250, Washington, DC 20006

Tel: +1 202 364-6792 | Email: embassydc@gosl.gov.lc

Elizabeth Darius-Clarke is back in Washington for a second stint as ambassador of St. Lucia; the first time she represented her Caribbean island nation of 180,000 here was from 2015 to 2016. The ambassador’s diplomatic career began in 2012 when she joined the embassy as St. Lucia’s alternate representative to the Organization of American States and as minister-counselor.

Darius-Clarke has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and law from the University of the West Indies, a master’s in human resource development from England’s University of Manchester, and an MBA from England’s University of Durham.

In her previous career, Darius-Clarke spent 21 years in the education sector, preparing highschool students for their Caribbean Examination Council exams in biology and social studies. From 2009 to 2012, she also lectured undergraduate students at Monroe College, and was also a human resource consultant for groups such as the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corp. and the St. Lucia Water & Sewerage Co.

Embassy of St. Vincent & the Grenadines

1627 K Street NW, Suite #1202, Washington, DC 20006 Tel: +1 202 364-6730 | Email: mail@embsvg.com

Lou-Anne Gaylene Gilchrist is the Washington-based ambassador of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, with 110,000 inhabitants one of the smallest nations in the Western Hemisphere. Gilchrist earned a bachelor’s degree in modern languages from the University of the West Indies in Barbados, as well as a master’s degree in translation studies from England’s University of Warwick. She then spent over 20 years teaching and lecturing at St. Vincent & the Grenadines Community College.

Before becoming ambassador, Gilchrist—a former Girl Guide—spent seven years as St. Vincent’s chief education officer, from 2009 to 2016, where she focused on “providing inclusive, quality education for all.”

As ambassador in Washington, Gilchrist’s priority issues are sustainable development, climate change, democracy and governance, multidimensional security and the protection of human rights. She also hopes to “further the development of partnerships for trade, education, employment, immigration and other important issues aimed at enhancing the quality of life of Vincentians.”

ST.

ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES

Ambassador Lou-Anne

SAUDI ARABIA

Ambassador

Princess Reema

bint Bandar Al Saud

Embassy of Saudi Arabia

601 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037

Tel: +1 202 342-3800 | Email: info.was@mofa.gov.sa

Daughter of an ambassador. CEO of a major corporation. Head of a multisports federation. Princess. Mother. Leading global thinker, according to Foreign Policy magazine.

And now, Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s top envoy to the US since 2019, is the first woman in Saudi history to achieve the rank of ambassador.

Bandar was born in Riyadh in 1975, a few months after her grandfather, Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal, was assassinated by his own nephew, Faisal bin Musaid. She came to the US at age 7, growing up in Fairfax County, Virginia, while her father, Prince Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, served as Saudi ambassador.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in museum studies from George Washington University, Bandar returned to Saudi Arabia, where she co-founded Yibreen, a women’s gym, and later became CEO of Alfa International Co. In 2016, she took on a new role as vicepresident of women’s affairs for the Saudi General Sports Authority.

In a recent webinar, Bandar said her goal is “to unlock our nation’s untapped potential, uplifting our people and opening the country to the world socially, economically and culturally.”

Embassy of Senegal

2215 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037

Tel: +1 202 234-0540 | Email: contact@ambasenegal-us.org

Mansour Kane, Senegal’s ambassador to the US since December 2019, is also accredited to 11 Latin American countries. Before assuming his current post in Washington, he was Senegalese minister of petroleum and energy (2017-19) as well as minister of infrastructure and transportation (2014-17).

Prior to joining the government, Kane worked at the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) in Washington for 13 years in finance, telecom, energy, mining and manufacturing services, with regional responsibility for Africa and the Middle East. And before that, he spent seven years with Citibank in financial engineering and structuring.

Kane began his career in the mining industry as a process engineer at Senegalese Taïba Phosphates, and as a research and development engineer at Canada’s Rouyan Noranda Gold Mining. The ambassador holds a master’s degree in mining engineering from Canada’s Laval University and an MBA from Arizona’s Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Ambassador

Mansour Kane

SERBIA Ambassador

Marko Djuric

Embassy of Serbia

1333 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 332-0333 | Email: info@serbiaembusa.org

Marko Djuric, Serbia’s ambassador to the US since January 2020, was born and raised in Belgrade. He also lived for a time in Israel; his maternal grandmother was interned in Auschwitz and was among the few members of her family to survive the Holocaust.

Djuric’s great-grand uncle was Nikola Pašić, prime minister of both Serbia and Yugoslavia in the early 20th century. Djuric is also vice-president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), whose 750,000 members make it Europe’s largest political party by membership.

A law graduate of the University of Belgrade, Djuric rose through the ranks of the SNS—which he co-founded in 2008—and in 2016 became deputy chairman of the party’s main board.

From 2014 to 2020, Djuric directed Serbia’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija. As such, he headed negotiations in Brussels with representatives of Kosovo, as well as Serbia’s efforts to join the EU. Djuric said his priority as ambassador is to “increase the level of trust” between Washington and Belgrade. Djuric and his wife, Andrijana, have three daughters. He’s fluent in English and Hebrew.

Embassy of Sierra Leone

1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 939-9261 | Email: info@embassyofsierraleone.net

Sidique Abou-Bakarr Wai, Sierra Leone’s ambassador to the US since February 2019, has a unique claim to fame. As an advisor to the New York Police Department, he initiated the NYPD’s body camera program in 2012—a move that reduced crime while boosting trust between the department’s 40,000 uniformed cops and the city’s 8.5 million residents.

He also organized the first public safety meeting between NYPD top brass and African ambassadors accredited to the United Nations.

Ambassador

Sidique AbouBakarr Wai

Wai earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and pre-law from New York’s Fordham University in 1977, later pursuing graduate studies at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service.

As former president of the United African Congress and a longtime African diaspora leader, Wai applied behind-the-scenes pressure during Sierra Leone’s 1991-2002 civil war that forced rebels to release several high-profile captives. And during the 2013-16 Ebola epidemic, he got donors at the UN to pledge $1 billion for Sierra Leone’s post-Ebola recovery.

In September 2018, Wai hosted Sierra Leone’s First Investment Forum in New York, an event attended by numerous dignitaries including President Julius Maada Bio.

NELSON MANDELA

Embassy of South Africa

Nelson Mandela (1918 - 2013) led South Africa’s struggle against apartheid. The country’s first black president, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Photos: Austin Tolchin

Ambassador

Ashok Kumar

Mirpuri

Embassy of Singapore

3501 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 537-3100 | Email: singemb_was@mfa.sg

Ashok Kumar Mirpuri has been Singapore’s ambassador to the US since 2012. Before that, he was ambassador to Indonesia (2006-12), high commissioner to Malaysia (2002-06) and high commissioner to Australia (2000-02).

A career diplomat, Mirpuri joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1984, and in 1994 was appointed director of the MFA’s Policy Planning & Analysis Directorate I (Southeast Asia).

In 1997, Mirpuri was seconded to Shell International in Britain as a corporate advisor for the AsiaPacific region. The following year, he was assigned to Singapore’s embassy in Jakarta as ministercounselor and deputy chief of mission, having previously served in Jakarta as a first secretary.

Mirpuri graduated with an honors degree from the National University of Singapore. He did his master’s degree at the University of London’s School of Oriental & African Studies under a Raffles scholarship. He also attended the Programme for Executive Development at Switzerland’s Institute for Management Development, as well as Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

Embassy of Slovakia

3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 237-1054 | Email: emb.washington@mzv.sk

Radovan Javorčik, Slovakia’s ambassador to the US since January 2021, has been a foreign service officer since 1995.

After graduating from the Slovak Technical University and Comenius University’s Institute of International Relations in Bratislava, he joined the Office of the President in the press, and later, the foreign policy department.

Ambassador

Radovan Javorčik

At the Slovak Foreign Ministry, Javorčik was deputy director of the Policy Planning Department. After his posting at the Slovak permanent mission to NATO (1998-2002), he continued to work on NATO files as a team leader and later as deputy director for security policy, where he helped prepare Slovakia for NATO membership.

His next posting was at the Slovak Embassy in London (2005-09); he then supervised North American and Mideast affairs, becoming Slovakia’s ambassador to Israel (2011-15). He returned to Brussels in 2017 as Slovakia’s envoy to Belgium and permanent representative to NATO. Javorčík and his wife, fellow diplomat Michelle Joanne Javorčíková, have two sons. He speaks fluent English, Czech and Russian, and understands French, German and Spanish.

Embassy of Slovenia

2410 California Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 Tel: +1 202 386-6601 | Email: sloembassy.washington@gov.si

Tone Kajzer, born in 1966 in the town of Mežica, is Slovenia’s ambassador to the US. In 1995, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was assigned to the Slovenian Embassy in Egypt. Upon his return in 2000, he served as deputy national coordinator for development cooperation. As head of the Croatia department, he helped resolve outstanding issues between the two former Yugoslav republics.

In 2008, he was appointed ambassador to Finland, with accreditation to Estonia. He returned in 2012 as state secretary in the prime minister’s office, with a focus on foreign policy and economic issues.

Kajzer was Slovenia’s ambassador to Denmark (2013-18), with non-resident responsibility for Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and—for a time—Estonia and Lithuania as well. Kajzer has authored several contributions on international relations. He likes good books and all sports, especially running and golf. He and his wife, Milena, have two daughters.

SLOVENIA Ambassador Tone Kajzer

Ambassador

Ali Sharif Ahmed

Embassy of Somalia

1609 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 853-9164 | Email: info@somaliembassydc.net

Ali Sharif Ahmed, Somalia’s ambassador to the US since September 2019, was formerly the top Somali envoy to Ethiopia and France. He also served as Somalia’s permanent representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Prior to his diplomatic service, Ahmed was the senior policy advisor to the Office of the President and vice-chairman to Somalia’s secretary of foreign affairs. In this capacity, he was responsible for overall policy and led peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts on behalf of the government of Somalia—an impoverished nation of 16 million that’s been locked in civil war since the late 1980s.

In addition to his public sector experience, Ahmed was a business executive, entrepreneur and consultant for firms with global operations. Ahmed holds a bachelor’s degree in peace and conflict studies from London Metropolitan University, and a master’s in geopolitics and grand strategy from England’s University of Sussex.

Embassy of South Africa

3051 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 232-4400 | Email: TwalaM@dirco.gov.za

Nomaindiya Cathleen Mfeketo has been South Africa’s ambassador to the US for nearly three years—and since her first day, the COVID-19 pandemic has seemed to dominated her job.

The longtime politician—the first black woman to win election as mayor of her native Cape Town—departed for Washington on March 12, 2020. The next day, South Africa went into an extended lockdown as countries worldwide confronted the frightening new contagion.

More recently, Mfeketo found herself defending South Africa in the face of a widespread travel ban spurred by the Omicron variant.

Mfeketo, an anti-apartheid activist since the age of 23, served as the deputy speaker of South Africa’s fourth parliament, and since 2007 has been a member of the national executive committee of the ruling African National Congress. She was also South Africa’s deputy minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (2014-18), and minister of human settlements (2018-19).

Since her country became a democracy in 1994, said Mfeketo, it has strived to “deepen and broaden its relationship” with the US in trade, investment, tourism, technology, education, environmental and health issues.

Embassy of South Sudan

1015 31st Street NW, 3rd Floor, Suite #300, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 600-2238 | Email: info.ssdembassy@gmail.com

Phillip Jada Natana replaced Garang Diing Akuong as South Sudan’s ambassador to the United States in August 2018—seven years after South Sudan’s establishment as Africa’s newest independent nation.

Natana was formerly South Sudan’s ambassador to South Africa and Eritrea.

Ambassador

Santiago Cabanas

Ansorena

Embassy of Spain

2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037

Tel: +1 202 452-0100 | Email: emb.washington@maec.es

Santiago Cabanas Ansorena, Spain’s ambassador to the US since September 2018, was born in Madrid in 1954. He holds a law degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and joined the Spanish Foreign Service in 1981.

Before coming to Washington, Cabanas was Spain’s envoy to Algeria (2017-18). Prior to that, he held top-ranking positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including director of the minister’s cabinet and director-general for foreign policy. Cabanas has also been directorgeneral for consular affairs as well as for cultural and scientific relations.

Earlier in his career, Cabanas was Spain’s ambassador to the Czech Republic and to Jordan. He was also a political counselor at the embassy in Washington, and Spain’s consulgeneral in Miami.

In his office, Cabanas keeps a statue of Bernardo de Gálvez, a Spanish military leader who served as colonial governor of Spanish Louisiana. Gálvez was awarded honorary US citizenship thanks to his contributions to the Revolutionary War. The ambassador’s two favorite pastimes are hiking and reading, and Cervantes is among his favorite authors.

Embassy of Sri Lanka

3025 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 483-4025 | Email: slembassy@slembassyusa.org

Mahinda Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka’s new ambassador to the US, has nearly 40 years of public service under his belt as a diplomat, legislator and cabinet minister.

He graduated with an honors degree in economics from La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia; his first overseas posting was at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Canberra, Australia. Later, Samarasinghe was assigned to Sri Lanka’s permanent mission to the UN in Geneva, where he also represented his country at the World Health Organization (WHO),

Ambassador

Mahinda

Samarasinghe

In 1994, Samarasinghe was elected to Parliament representing Kalutara district. Over his 27-year legislative career, he headed various portfolios including employment and labor (2001-04); disaster management and human rights (2006-10); plantation industries (201015); finance (2015); skills development and vocational training (2015-17); ports and shipping (2017-19) and public administration and home affairs (2019-20).

Samarasinghe only resigned his position to take up his current assignment in Washington.

Embassy of Sudan

2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 (202) 338-8565 | Email: consular@sudanembassy.org

Mohamed Idris, Sudan’s ambassador to the United States, was born in the town of Abu Gubeiha. Besides his native Arabic, the married father of four is also fluent in English, Hausa and Kiswahili.

He earned a diploma of international relations from the University of Khartoum (1995) and a master of arts in peace and development studies from Juba University (2010).

Idris represented the Sudanese government in peace talks with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement from 1999 to 2003. He was also a delegate to several African Union meetings.

As a diplomat, Idris was deputy permanent representative to the League of Arab States in Cairo (2003-07) and later headed the league’s mission in Mogadishu, Somalia (2010-17). From 2008 to 2018, he held many positions within Sudan’s Foreign Ministry and served as Sudan’s ambassador to Britain from 2019 to 2021, prior to his current appointment in Washington.

SUDAN

Ambassador

Jan Marten

Willem Schalkwijk

Embassy of Suriname

4201 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite #400, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 629-4302 | Email: amb.vs@gov.sr

J. Marten W. Schalkwijk, appointed earlier this year as Suriname’s ambassador to the United States, studied politics and geography at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica; he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sociology from the University of Suriname, and a PhD in sociology from Cornell.

Schalkwijk began his career at the Suriname’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1981-89), where he headed its European Department and later its Bilateral Economic Department. He was heavily involved in talks on the Lomé Convention and was part of the former Dutch colony’s transition team from military rule to democracy in 1987.

After completing his PhD in 1993, Schalkwijk returned to Suriname to head the Anton de Kom University’s Institute for Social Science Research; he was later director of the school’s Institute for Graduate Studies and Research, which he led for 10 years. An expert on science, technology and innovation, from 2013 to 2016 he chaired the International Society on Biodiversity of the Guiana Shield.

Prior to his current post, Schalkwijk advised Suriname’s president and its minister of finance and planning.

Embassy of Sweden

2900 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 467-2600 | Email: ambassaden.washington@gov.se

Karin Ulrika Olofsdotter, born in 1966, became Sweden’s first female ambassador to the US in September 2017.

As a teen, her favorite movie was Grease, her favorite band was Vangelis and her favorite hobby was golf. She spent a year as an exchange student in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., and worked as a bartender in New Zealand for six months in her early 20s.

Ambassador

DIRECTORY 2022

Olofsdotter also studied for eight months in Moscow and a year at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, economics and Russian at Sweden’s University of Lund. She joined the Swedish Foreign Service in 1994 and was posted to Moscow and Brussels before returning to Stockholm later as chief of staff to three successive Swedish foreign ministers: Laila Freivalds (2003-06), Jan Eliasson (2006) and Carl Bildt (2006-08).

She then became minister-counselor and deputy chief of mission at the Swedish Embassy in Washington (2008-11), and ambassador to Hungary (2011-14). In 2016, she was named director-general for trade at the Foreign Ministry.

Olofsdotter and her husband, Hans Martin Bengtsson, have two children. She speaks Russian, French and English.

Ambassador

Embassy of Switzerland

2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite #300, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 745-7900 | Email: washington@eda.admin.ch

Jacques Pitteloud, Switzerland’s ambassador to the US since 2019, was born in 1962 in Zürich. He joined the Swiss Foreign Service in 1987; his first overseas posting was as trade attaché at the Swiss Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

After serving in the Swiss Strategic Intelligence Service (1990-95), he became the personal advisor to two successive defense ministers.

After having witnessed the Rwanda genocide in 1994, Pitteloud formed a group that successfully hunted down and brought many perpetrators to justice.

Pitteloud also directed arms control, disarmament, security policy and intelligence at the Foreign Ministry in Bern; he was also Switzerland’s ambassador to Kenya (2010-15). From 2015 until his current job, Pitteloud was director-general of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, overseeing a $3 billion budget.

Pitteloud earned a master’s degree and a PhD from the University of Zürich Law School. He graduated from Geneva University’s International Training Course in Security Policy.

Pitteloud is married with a daughter, and is fluent in French, English, German, Swiss German, Italian and Spanish. A passionate bird photographer, his photos have been published widely.

Embassy of Tajikistan

1005 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037

Tel: +1 202 223-6090 | Email: tajemus@mfa.tj

Farrukh Hamralizoda, born in 1966 in Dushanbe, was named Tajikistan’s ambassador to the US in 2020.

Hamralizoda was Tajikistan’s minister of economic development and trade (2009-12), state advisor on economic policy and assistant to the president on economic issues (2012-17), and chairman of the republic’s accounts chamber (2017-18).

Prior to his appointment, Hamralizoda chaired Tajikistan’s State Committee on Investments and State Property Management from 2018 to 2020.

Ambassador

Hamralizoda is fluent in English and Russian. The country he represents is the smallest in size—and the poorest in per-capita income—of the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia.

Embassy of Tanzania

1232 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037

Tel: +1 202 884-1080 | Email: washington@nje.go.tz

Elsie Sia Kanza, Tanzania’s ambassador to the US, previously sat on the executive committee of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and was special advisor to its president. From 2011 to 2020, as head of the WEF’s regional agenda on Africa, she focused on complex systemic problems related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Kanza was also economic advisor to the president of Tanzania (2006-11); before that, she worked in various capacities at Tanzania’s finance ministry and its central bank (1997-2006).

In 2008, Kanza became an Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow, and in 2011 a WEF Young Global Leader. In 2020, Forbes Africa named her one of Africa’s 50 most powerful women. She has served on the boards of the Uongozi Institute, Mercy Corps Europe, the African Leadership Institute and The Nature Conservancy.

In 2015, Scotland’s University of Strathclyde—where she earned a master’s degree in finance— awarded Kanza an honorary doctorate in business administration for her role in “driving transformative impact in Africa.” She also has a master’s degree from Williams College in Massachusetts, and a bachelor’s from US International University-Africa in Nairobi.

Ambassador Elsie Sia Kanza

SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL

British Embassy Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965) was the British prime minister who led his country to victory during World War II.

Located at 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20008

SIMÓN BOLÍVAR

Simón Bolívar (1783 - 1830) was a Venezuelan soldier and political leader who led the revolution against Spanish rule. He is considered Latin America’s greatest hero of independence.

Located 18th St NW, Corner Virginia Avenue Washington, DC 20240

Discover our award-winning family of independent schools, serving children from infancy through eighth grade.

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Tanee Sangrat

Embassy of Thailand

1024 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 944-3600 | Email: thai.wsn@thaiembdc.org

Tanee Sangrat became Thailand’s ambassador to the US in December 2022, replacing Manasvi Srisodapol.

Prior to his current post, Tanee was spokesman of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2020-22). Before that, he served as the Thai ambassador to Vietnam (2018-20), and before that, he was Thailand’s consul-general in Los Angeles, where he introduced a next-day visa service and strengthened the local Thai-American community through culture and sports.

In addition, Tanee was director-general of the ministry’s Southeast Asian Affairs division (2010-16), focusing on Thailand’s relations with its fellow ASEAN member states. And as political counselor at the Thai Embassy in Washington from 2007 to 2010, Tanee established the congressional Friends of Thailand Caucus.

From 1997 to 2001, he headed the consular section at Thailand’s mission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he worked on bilateral economic relations and provided protection for Thai nationals, including trafficked victims and undocumented workers.

Tanee has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and a master’s in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.

Embassy of Timor-Leste

4201 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite #504, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 966-3202 | Email: info@timorlesteembassy.org

Embassy of Togo

2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 234-4212 | Email: embassyoftogo@hotmail.com

Frederic Edem Hegbe, born in 1951, was named Togo’s ambassador to the US in 2017, marking his second stint in Washington representing the small West African nation. Hegbe served as chargé d’affaires (1992-94) and minister-counselor and deputy chief of mission (1994-99) here. Prior to that, he was first secretary and DCM at the Togolese Embassy in Kinshasa, Congo. From 2000 to 2016, he trained US diplomats in languages and culture for their overseas deployments at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) within the State Department’s National Foreign Affairs Training Center.

Hegbe

Hegbe graduated from the International Relations Institute of Cameroon in 1980, and also earned a bachelor’s degree in modern art—majoring in classic and contemporary French literature—as well as a master’s in comparative and African literature from Togo’s University of Lomé.

A father of three, he’s fluent in English and French.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Phillips-Spencer

Embassy of Trinidad & Tobago

1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 467-6490 | Email: embdcinfo@foreign.gov.tt

Brig. Gen. Anthony Phillips-Spencer became Trinidad & Tobago’s ambassador to the US in 2016, some 12 years after he was first sent to Washington as the embassy’s defense attaché. While there, he forged strong ties with the Delaware National Guard.

In 1981, Phillips-Spencer enlisted in his country’s defense force, and in 1992, he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine, later returning to UWI, where he obtained a master’s in international relations in 2011. His thesis was “Drug Policy Formulation in the Caribbean: 1982-2010.”

Phillips-Spencer spent much of his career working closely with Trinidad’s presidents, primarily A.N.R. Robinson and George Maxwell Richards.

In 2011, he became commanding officer of the army, and in 2013 vice-chief of the defense force. He was thought to be in line to become chief; however, when the incumbent chief retired, Phillips-Spencer was passed over. A few months later, he was sent to Washington as ambassador.

Phillips-Spencer speaks English, French and Spanish.

Embassy of Tunisia

1515 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005

Tel: +1 202 862-1850 | Email: AT.Washington@Tunisianembassy.org

Hanène Tajouri Bessassi, born in 1972, was appointed Tunisia’s envoy to the US in October 2021 by President Kais Saied, weeks after he dismissed her predecessor without explanation. A career diplomat, Tajouri Bessassi earned a master’s degree in law in 1995 from the Faculté des Sciences juridiques, politiques et sociales de Tunis (FSJPS), and a graduate diploma in 1998 from Tunisia’s National School of Administration (ENA).

Her first posting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tajouri Bessassi was put in charge of Tunisia’s relationship with Germany (1998-2000), then became head of the division managing Tunisia’s ties with the EU (2000-05). From 2005 to 2010, she was deputy chief of mission at the Tunisian Embassy in Portugal.

Her next position was deputy director in charge of the Tunisia-EU relationship (2010-13), then as head of congressional affairs and later deputy chief of mission at the Tunisian Embassy in Washington (2013-18). She also spent one year as Tunisia’s ambassador to Germany (2020-21). Married with three children, the new ambassador speaks fluent Arabic, French and English, and has basic knowledge of German and Portuguese.

MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATÜRK

TARAS SHEVCHENKO

Taras Schevchenko (1814-1861) was a Ukrainian poet and a fighter for the independence of Ukraine whose literary heritage is regarded as the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature. The monument is dedicated to the liberation and independence of all captive nations.

Located at 2200 block of P Street NW (22nd St NW, Washington, DC 20037)

Embassy of Turkey Residence

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (18811938), an army officer, was the founder of modern Turkey, who transformed his country into a secular republic.

Located at 1606 23rd Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Photo: Austin Tolchin

Ambassador

Hanène Tajouri Bessassi

Embassy of Turkey

2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 612-6700 | Email: embassy.washingtondc@mfa.gov.tr

Hasan Murat Mercan, a founding member of Turkey’s ruling conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP), has represented his country as ambassador to the US since March 2021. Mercan earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degree in industrial engineering (1981 and 1984) from Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University, and a PhD in decision and information sciences in 1989 from the University of Florida in Gainesville. He’s been an assistant professor of management at several institutions including Anadolu University in Eskişehir, Bilkent University in Ankara, and Ohio’s Cleveland State University.

From 2007 to 2011, Mercan was a deputy for Eskişehir and chairman of the Turkish Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (2007-11). He went to become deputy minister of energy (2012-14); chairman of the World Energy Council’s Turkish National Committee (2014-17) and Turkey’s ambassador to Japan (2017-21) before assuming his current post.

In a recent article for Defense One, Mercan said “it’s time for rapprochement between Turkey and the United States,” noting that “recent events from Afghanistan to Africa require us to revisit the entire transatlantic partnership—together.”

Embassy of Turkmenistan

2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 588-1500 | Email: turkmenembassyus@verizon.net

Meret Bairamovich Orazov, born in 1950, has been Turkmenistan’s ambassador to the US since 2001, with accreditation to Mexico since 2013.

Before representing the former Soviet republic as a diplomat, Orazov was chancellor of Turkmen State University (1992-2001), interrupted only by a stint as Turkmenistan’s minister of foreign economic relations from 1995 to 1997.

He served as director of the Mathematical Institute of Turkmenistan’s Academy of Science (1991-94); first secretary of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan (1991-92); chancellor of the Economic University of Turkmenistan (1987-91) and chairman of the mathematics department at that same institution (1983-84).

Orazov earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in mathematics from Moscow State Lomonosov University (1973 and 1976). His areas of research were functional and spectral analysis; mathematical problems of fluid mechanics; and educational problems during transition to a market economy.

Orazov and his wife, Irina Orazova, have three children and one granddaughter.

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Embassy of Uganda

5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011

Tel: +1 202 726-7100 | Email: info@ugandaembassyus.org

Embassy of Uganda

5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011

Tel: +1 202 726-7100 | Email: info@ugandaembassyus.org

Robinah Kakonge has been named to replace Mull Sebujja katenda as Uganda’s new ambassador to the United States.

Her father was John Kakonge, secretary-general of the opposition Uganda Peoples Congress. In 1972, the elder Kakonge was kidnapped in broad daylight from his Kampala wine shop and murdered on the orders of former president-for-life Idi Amin.

The ambassador, who has no memory of her father, fled with her mother to the US in 1977, where she was educated and has spent most of her adulthood. She graduated from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications. In addition, Kakonge has a master’s degree in journalism from New York’s Columbia University, as well as a master’s in public health leadership from Uganda Christian University.

A former communications officer for Uganda’s mission to the United Nations, Kakonga has focused her career on public health (including HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 policies); business and innovation; sustainable agriculture; media and communications; and national security.

Kakonge is also a founding member of both the Uganda Council on Foreign Relations and the American Chamber of Commerce in East Africa.

Embassy of Ukraine

3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 349-2963 | Email: emb_us@mfa.gov.ua

Oksana Markarova was appointed Ukraine’s ambassador to the US in April 2021. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental science from Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and an MPA in public finance from Indiana University.

A former minister of finance and deputy minister before that, Markarova co-authored Ukraine’s macroeconomic revival program, which led to a deficit-to-GDP ratio of 2%. She introduced midterm budgeting and gender-oriented budgeting. She also negotiated, structured and coordinated two IMF programs and other agreements with international financial institutions.

During her tenure, Markarova and her team also created the UkraineInvest government promotion agency, the Ukrainian Startup Fund and a system of online public finance portals. Before joining the government, Markarova spent 17 years in private equity and finance, with leadership roles in the ITT investment group, Western NIS Enterprise Fund, Chemonics and other ventures.

Markarova serves on the boards of the Ukraine House DC Foundation, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and the Ukrainian Development Foundation. She’s married, with four children and a grandson.

Ambassador

Ambassador

Ambassador

Yousef Al Otaiba

Embassy of the United Arab Emirates

3522 International Court NW, Suite #100 Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 243-2400 | Email: washingtonemb@mofaic.gov.ae

Yousef Al Otaiba, one of the most visible and influential foreign diplomats in Washington, has been the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the US since 2008.

Al Otaiba’s leadership was instrumental in finalizing the US-UAE 123 Agreement for Peaceful Civilian Nuclear Energy Cooperation (2009), hosting the Special Olympic World Games in Abu Dhabi (2019) and facilitating the historic UAE-Israel normalization agreement (2020). His key role in the Abraham Accords led to his inclusion in TIME’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2020.

In addition to boosting bilateral trade by 70% since becoming ambassador, Al Otaiba has also helped finance community programs across the US. His embassy’s Community Soccer Program has funded 11 new soccer fields in low-income cities. In addition, Al Otaiba sits on the board of the Special Olympics as well as Harvard Kennedy School’s Leadership Council.

Before his current post, Al Otaiba was director of international affairs for Gen. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Embassy of the United Kingdom

3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 588-6500 | Email: public.affairsdc@fcdo.gov.uk

Karen Pierce is the UK’s ambassador in Washington. Prior to this, she was Britain’s permanent representative to the UN in New York, and before that, director-general for political affairs and chief operating officer of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London.

Pierce joined the FCO in 1981. Her first posting was Tokyo (1984-87); she then returned to the UK, joining the Security Policy Department. Pierce later served as private secretary to the British ambassador in Washington (1992-95), then held several posts including team leader for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova; deputy head of the Eastern Adriatic department, head of the newsroom, and later of both the EU department and the Afghanistan Political Military Unit before returning to the Balkans as a coordinator for four years.

In 2006, Pierce moved to New York for her UN ambassadorship, returning to London in 2009 to direct the South Asia/Afghanistan department. In 2012, Pierce relocated to Geneva, where she was UK permanent representative to the UN, WTO and other bodies. In 2015-16, she was Britain’s ambassador to Afghanistan.

Embassy of Uruguay

1913 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20006

Tel: +1 202 331-1313 | Email: urueeuu@mrree.gub.uy

Andrés Augusto Durán has been Uruguay’s ambassador to the United States since September 2020. A lawyer by profession, Durán has over 20 years of experience in the private sector, having participated in key foreign investment projects, mergers and acquisitions throughout Latin America.

Before his current post, Durán was executive advisor for Ashmore Group’s private equity and real estate division, leading M&As while coordinating activities between the company’s New York and Bogotá offices (2018- 2020).

Previously, Durán was a founding partner at Bragard & Durán (2011-18) and a partner and associate with Hughes & Hughes (1998-2011). He was also a visiting attorney in Slaughter & May (2008), and worked in the legal division of the Inter-American Investment Corp. (currently IDB Invest).

Durán earned a law degree from Uruguay’s Catholic University and an LL.M. in international legal studies from the Georgetown University Law Center. He also has an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Durán and his wife, Isabel Lindner, have two children. He enjoys tennis, running and soccer.

A Global Leader in Patient Care

As a Ha r v ard Medical School teaching hospital in Bos ton, Brigham and Women’s Hospital is internationally known for pioneering b reakth roughs and caring for patients with complex medical conditions.

Each y ear, thousands of international patients t rav el to our hospital for ad vanced t reatment, complex su rgeries and inn ov ati v e clinical trials.

Our multilingual International Patient Center staff assist with all aspects of this journ ey, including coo rdinating medical ca re and concie rge se rvices.

Ambassador

Javlon Vakhabov

Embassy of Uzbekistan

1746 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 887-5300 | Email: info.washington@mfa.uz

Javlon Vakhabov, Uzbekistan’s envoy to the US since 2017, is among the youngest ambassadors in Washington. In many ways, he represents a new generation of Uzbeks helping nudge the Central Asian country out of international isolation under Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a former prime minister who took over in 2016 upon the death of dictator Islam Karimov.

Vakhabov earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in international law at Tashkent’s University of World Economy and Diplomacy. He began his career in 2001 as attaché, third secretary and then acting head of division at the Treaty-Law Department of Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry. In 2006, he became a consultant for the National Security Council, and in 2011, was promoted to deputy secretary of that council.

In 2013, he was named director of Uzbekistan’s Institute of Strategic and Inter-Regional Studies, and two years later became deputy minister of foreign affairs. In 2015, Vakhabov was promoted to first deputy minister, a position he held until his current post in Washington. Vakhabov is married with three children.

Embassy of Venezuela

1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 240 535-8911 | Email: info@us.embajadavenezuela.org

On Jan. 5, 2023, the interim Venezuelan government of Juan Guaidó announced the closing of its embassy in Washington, DC. This has left Venezuela without any official representation in the United States.

Embassy of Vietnam

1233 20th Street NW, Suite #400, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 861-0737 | Email: info@vietnamembassy.us

Nguyen Quoc Dzung replaced Ha Kim Ngoc as Vietnam’s ambassador to the US in February 2022. Born in Hanoi in 1964, Dzung is a 30-year veteran of Vietnam’s Foreign Service. Most recently, he was the socialist country’s deputy foreign minister (2016-22); before that, he was assistant foreign minister and director-general of two ministry departments: organization and personnel, and economic affairs (2011-16).

Dzung served as ambassador to Hungary, with accreditation to Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia (2007-11), and held various positions within the Foreign Ministry from 1990 to 2007, including director-general of the APEC 2006 National Secretariat, except for a three-year stint at the Vietnamese Embassy in Berlin as attaché and then third secretary (1996-99).

Dzung graduated from the Institute for International Relations (now the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam) in 1984. He attended an intensive Russian language course at Ukraine’s Kiev University (1986-87) and earned a master’s degree in international studies from England’s Birmingham University (1993-95).

The new ambassador is fluent in English. He also speaks Russian, French and German. Dzung and his wife, Tran Thi Bich Van, have two children.

Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dzung

Ambassador Mohammad Al-Hadhrami

Embassy of Yemen

2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 965-4760 | Email: information@yemenembassy.org

Career diplomat Mohammed Al-Hadhrami was appointed Yemen’s ambassador to the United States in March 2022.

Al-Hadhrami began working with the Yemeni Foreign Ministry in 2004. From 2008 to 2012, he served at Yemen’s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York, where he also represented his country at the UNDP, UNOPS and UNFPA executive boards.

From 2016 to 2018, he was deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Yemen in Washington. He then spent nearly a year as Yemen’s vice minister of foreign affairs (201819), followed by just over a year as Yemen’s minister of foreign affairs (2019-20).

Al-Hadhrami holds two master’s degrees—one in diplomacy and international relations from New Jersey’s Fairleigh Dickinson University (2010), and another in development policy from the Korean Development Institute in Seoul (2013). He earned his bachelor’s degree from Missouri State University in 2002.

Born in 1979, Al-Hadhrami is married with three children.

Embassy of Zambia

2200 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

Tel: +1 202 234-4009 | Email: info@zambiaembassy.org

Lazarous Kapambwe, Zambia’s ambassador to the US since January 2020, spent 12 years prior to that as his country’s permanent representative to the UN in New York.

Born in 1959, Kapambwe earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Zambia, and a post-graduate diploma in international relations from Kenya’s Nairobi University.

Starting as counselor for political affairs at Zambia’s permanent mission to the UN (1987-88), he later became deputy chief of mission at Zambia’s embassy in Washington (1988-93). Back home, he headed African affairs at the Foreign Ministry (1996-2000), becoming permanent secretary for Asia, Africa and the Middle East (2000-02), and permanent secretary (2002-03).

From 2003 to 2007, Kapambwe was Zambia’s envoy to Ethiopia and the African Union (AU), with concurrent accreditation to Sudan, Yemen, Djibouti and Somalia. He’s also represented Zambia at the OAU, the AU, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD).

Embassy of Zimbabwe

1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

Tel: +1 202 332-7100 | Email: general@zimembassydc.org

Tadeous Tafirenyika Chifamba, Zimbabwe’s new ambassador to the US, formerly represented his country before the European Union in Brussels. From 2009 to 2013, the career diplomat was permanent secretary for regional integration and international cooperation.

From 1994 to 2001, he was Zimbabwe’s deputy ambassador to the UN and World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva. Other positions at the Foreign Ministry included divisional head for multilateral affairs (2002-07) and divisional head for Africa, Asia and the Pacific (2007-09).

In 1999 and 2011, Chifamba was coordinator and spokesman of the African trade negotiators’ group at the WTO. In 2011, he was elected chief negotiator for eastern and southern Africa during talks on economic partnership agreements with the EU.

Chifamba graduated from the University of Zimbabwe with a bachelor’s degree in politics and administration, and a master’s in international relations. His appointment as ambassador, notes the embassy’s website, “is expected to give impetus to the government’s re-engagement efforts aimed at ending Zimbabwe’s isolation.”

ZIMBABWE Ambassador

OTHER DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS

African Union

1640 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007

Tel: +1 202 342-1100 | Email: au-washington@africa-union.org

Since November 2020, Zimbabwean diplomat Hilda Suka-Mafudze has represented the 55-member African Union as permanent representative of the AU’s mission in Washington.

A career diplomat whose two decades of experience spans the African continent, SukaMafudze was known as a “quiet champion of democracy.” She was Zimbabwe’s ambassador to both Sudan and South Sudan, and more recently, Malawi.

Ambassador

Hilda SukaMafudze

While in Malawi, Suka-Mafudze chaired the group of 16 regional ambassadors representing the South African Development Community, settling contested national elections among other responsibilities.

From 2000 to 2005, Suka-Mafudze served as one of the few women in Zimbabwe’s Parliament, where she was an influential voice on behalf of poor people, women, youth, children and other marginalized groups.

The ambassador has a BS in sociology and gender development from Women’s University of Africa, located in Marondera, Zimbabwe, and an MA in international relations from England’s University of Leicester. Besides her native English, Suka-Mafudze—who is married with four children—speaks French and several southern African languages including Shona and Ndebele.

European Union

2175 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20037

Tel: +1 202 862-9500 | Email: delegation-usa-info@eeas.europa.eu

Since 2019, Greek diplomat Stavros Lambrinidis has been the European Union’s ambassador to the United States.

Born in Athens in 1962, Lambrinidis studied economics and political science at Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he learned his bachelor of arts degree in 1984. At Yale, where he obtained his law degree in 1988, Lambrinidis was managing editor of the Yale Journal of International Law.

He joined Wilmer Cutler & Pickering in 1988, specializing in international trade, transactions and arbitration until he left in 1993. Back in Greece, Lambrinidis was chief of staff to the foreign minister (1996); secretary-general of the Greek Foreign Ministry responsible for overseas Greeks (1996-99); and director-general of the International Olympic Truce Centre (2000-04).

From 2004 to 2011, Lambrinidis served in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, with the Greek Social Democratic Party (PASOK). Following a brief stint in 2011 as Greek foreign minister, in 2012 Lambrinidis became the EU’s special representative for human rights—a position he held until his February 2019 appointment in Washington.

Ambassador

TAIWAN (REPUBLIC OF CHINA)

Ambassador

Salah A. Sarhan

League of Arab States

1100 17th Street NW, Suite #602, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 265-3210 | Email: ambassador@arableague-us.org

Veteran Saudi diplomat Salah A. Sarhan represents the 22-member League of Arab States (formerly the Arab League) in Washington.

Born in Mecca, Sarhan joined Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomatic attaché in 1977, in the department of bilateral economic relations. He served as third secretary in economic research at the Saudi Embassy in London (1979-85), and as second secretary in Saudi Arabia’s permanent mission to the UN in Geneva (1985-88).

Sarhan became director of the Foreign Ministry’s department of international economic relations in 1989 and was promoted in 1997 to deputy director of the department of international organizations.

From 1998 to 2001, he was deputy ambassador at Saudi Arabia’s permanent mission to the Arab League in Cairo. He was then named Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Ethiopia, and in 2005 became director of judicial affairs at the Foreign Ministry, serving there until 2008. The following year, Sarhan became Saudi Arabia’s first ambassador to Vietnam and nonresident ambassador to Cambodia. He held that position until 2014 and his reassignment to Washington.

Taipei Economic & Cultural Representative Office (TECRO)

4201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016

Tel: +1 202 895-1800 | Email: usa@mofa.gov.tw

Bi-khim Hsiao became Taiwan’s top envoy to the United States in July 2020, after serving as a senior advisor to the president at the National Security Council of Taiwan. In the absence of full diplomatic relations with the US, her official title here is representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO).

Hsiao previously served four terms in the Taiwan Legislature, representing overseas citizens for the first term, and then the constituents of Taipei City and Hualien County through different terms. She also chaired the USA Caucus in the Legislative Yuan.

She began her political career as director of the international affairs division of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). After Taiwan’s first democratic change of government in 2000, she became a presidential advisor, and was international spokeswoman for all DPP presidential elections between 2000 and 2012.

Born in the Japanese city of Kobe, Hsiao grew up in Tainan, a city in southern Taiwan. She has a bachelor’s degree in East Asian studies from Ohio’s Oberlin College, and a master’s in political science from New York’s Columbia University.

Representative Bi-khim Hsiao

NEW YORK MISSIONS

Andorra

2 UN Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 212 750-8064 | Email: contact@andorraun.org

Permanent representative: Elisenda Vives Balmaña

Bhutan

343 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 212-682-2268 | Email: bhutanmission@pmbny.bt

Permanent representative: Doma Tshering

Comoros

866 UN Plaza, Suite #495, New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 212 750-1637 | Email: comoros@un.int

Permanent representative: Issimail Chanfi

Maldives

801 Second Avenue, Suite #202E, New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 212 599-6194 | Email: info@maldivesmission.com

Permanent representative: Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed

Nauru

801 Second Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 212 937-0074 | Email: nauru@onecommonwealth.org

Permanent representative: Marlene Moses

Samoa

685 Third Avenue, Suite #1102, New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 212 599-6196 | Email: samoanymission@outlook.com

Permanent representative: Fatumanava-o-Upolu III Pa’olelei Luteru

San Marino

327 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022

Tel: +1 212 751-1234 | Email: sanmarinoun@gmail.com

Permanent representative: Damiano Beleffi

Countries whose UN missions in New York also function as embassies to the United States:

Seychelles

800 Second Avenue, Suite #400C, New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 212 972-1785 | Email: seychelles@un.int

Permanent representative: Ronald Jean Jumeau

Solomon Islands

800 Second Avenue, Suite #400L, New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 212 599-6192 | Email: simun@solomons.com

Permanent representative: Jane Mugafalu Kabui Waetara

Tonga

2250 East 51st Street, New York, NY 10022

Tel: +1 917 369-1025 | Email: tongaunmission@aol.com

Permanent representative: Mahe ‘Uli’uli Sandhurst Tupouniua

We will update the information in our digital edition.

If you see an error or information that should be updated, email us at directory@washdiplomat.com.

UNITED NATIONS MISSIONS

These entities lack diplomatic relations with the United States, or do not have embassies in Washington, but do have United Nations missions in New York:

Afghanistan

633 Third Avenue, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 212 972-1212

Permanent representative: Muhammad Wali Naeemi

Korea (North)

820 Second Avenue, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 212 972-3105 | Email: dpr.korea@verizon.net

Permanent representative: Kim Song

Palestine

801 Second Avenue, Suite #202E, New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 212 599-6194 | Email: info@maldivesmission.com

Permanent representative: Riyad Mansour

Syria

820 Second Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10017

Tel: +1 212 661-1313 | Email: exesec.syria@gmail.com

Permanent representative: Bassam Sabbagh

OTHER MISSIONS

Iranian Interests Section

Embassy of Pakistan

1250 23rd Street NW, Suite #200, Washington, DC 20037

Tel: +1 202 965-4990 | Email: info@dftar.org

Director: Majid Takht Ravanchi

EMBASSY APPENDIX

S F E N

LEADERS IN PERIMETER H E R

SECURITY C U L E

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