Barbara Jean Stephenson (born 1958) is an American diplomat and university official. Stephenson served as president of the

American Foreign Service Association American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), established in 1924, is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service. With over 15,000 dues-paying members, American Foreign Service Association represents 28,000 active and retir ...

from 2015 to 2019. She was formerly the Dean of the Leadership and Management School of the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia. Formerly, she was Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in London, and acted 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 ...

following the departure of Ambassador

Louis Susman Louis B. Susman (born November 19, 1937) is an American lawyer, retired investment banker, and the former United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Nominated by President Barack Obama, he was confirmed by the United States Senate, Senate o ...

. She is the former

United States Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. ...

to the

Republic of Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...

. She was confirmed by the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

and was appointed by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

in the Summer of 2010.

Biography

Stephenson received her bachelor's degree, Masters, and Ph.D. in English all from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. She is married to Matthew Furbush. They have two children.

Career

Stephenson is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and holds the rank of Minister Counselor at the Foreign Service. She joined in 1985 and began her career in Panama as an economic and then political officer. Stephenson served as Deputy Coordinator for

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

at the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

. For her work - particularly the development and implementation of the civilian surge in Iraq - she won the State Department's

Distinguished Honor Award The Distinguished Honor Award is an award of the United States Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and USAID. It is presented to groups or i ...

. In August 2009, Stephenson wrote in a diplomatic cable that Panamanian president

Ricardo Martinelli Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal (born March 11, 1951) is a Panamanian politician and businessman who was the 36th President of Panama, president of Panama from 2009 to 2014. Early life Born in Panama City, Ricardo Martinelli is the son ...

had asked her for wiretaps on his political opponents in which she noted his "bullying style" and "autocratic tendencies". A copy of the cable was released in December 2010 by

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...

. Martinelli's administration stated after the leak that "help in tapping the telephones of politicians was never requested" and that Stephenson was "mistaken" in her interpretation. Ambassador Stephenson's assessment was vindicated when the Panamanian government ruled to press corruption charges against Martinelli and to prosecute two former Secretaries of Panama's National Security Council on illegal wiretapping charges. Stephenson became the first woman to be appointed deputy ambassador and acting ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in London. After retiring from the Foreign Service, she presently serves as the Vice Provost for Global Affairs and Chief Global Officer at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

References

External links

''University of Florida'' Press Release about being named U.S. Ambassador

Inside UF announcement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Barbara Jean 1958 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Panama University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni United States Foreign Service personnel American women ambassadors 21st-century American women