On November 3, 2005, Kristie Kenney was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the United States Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines. A senior member of the U.S. Foreign Service, Ms. Kenney served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Ecuador from September 2002 to July 2005. As U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador, she supervised nearly 500 United States Government employees and managed an assistance budget of more than $70 million. Prior to that, she spent nine months as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.
Beginning in 1998, she served as Executive Secretary of the State Department for three years, the first woman to hold that key position. In that capacity, she headed a staff of 185 persons responsible for inter-agency policy coordination and crisis management working directly for Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Madeleine Albright.
Kristie Kenney’s overseas postings include Economic Counselor at the United States Mission to International Organizations in Geneva, Economic Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Argentina, and Consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica. Her Washington assignments include Director of the State Department Operations Center, a detail to the White House as a member of the National Security Council staff, and Political-Military Officer in the Office of NATO Affairs.
She holds a Master’s Degree in Latin American Studies from Tulane University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Clemson University. She also attended the National War College. She speaks Spanish and French.
A native of Washington, DC, Kristie Kenney was a page for the United States Senate, a tour guide in the U.S. Capitol, and an intern in the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, she worked as a staff member for the Senate Human Resources Committee.
Kristie Kenney received the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award, the Arnold Raphel Award (for leadership, motivation, and mentoring), and several superior honor awards.
