Adam H. Sterling (born 1960) is a retired American diplomat. He previously served as the Ambassador to Slovakia from September 2016 to August 2019.

Biography

Education

Sterling earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and a Bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College.

Career

Sterling joined the Foreign Service in 1990 after working as a liaison to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

for the

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

. His initial diplomatic posts include

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

from 1991 to 1993 and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

from 1993 to 1995. Later, he returned to America as a desk officer in the Office of Central Asian Affairs from 1995 to 1997. Then, Sterling completed two tours as a political officer in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

from 1998 to 2001 and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

from 2001 to 2005. After his overseas tours, Sterling served as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2005 to 2006. Next, he served as the Director for Central and Eastern European Affairs on the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

staff from 2006 to 2009. Posting back overseas, Sterling served as the Deputy Chief of Mission and twice as

Chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

in Azerbaijan from 2010 to 2013. Next, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission and twice as

in the Netherlands from 2013 to 2016. He was the Ambassador to Slovakia from May 2016 to August 2019. Most recently, Sterling was the Civilian Deputy and Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commander of the US European Command from 2019 to 2022.

Personal life

Sterling grew up in New York City and Lawrence, Kansas. He is married and has two adult children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sterling, Adam 1960 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Grinnell College alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni United States Foreign Service personnel Ambassadors of the United States to Slovakia