Bernadette M. Meehan (born 1975) is an American diplomat who is the current

United States Ambassador to Chile The following is a list of ambassadors that the United States has sent to Chile. The current title given by the United States State Department to this position is Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. See also *Ambassadors of ...

. She previously worked as chief international officer for the

Obama Foundation The Barack Obama Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization founded in 2014. It oversees the creation of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, runs the My Brother's Keeper Alliance (a program Barack Obama began while he was president), ...

. She also served as a spokesperson for the

United States National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Execu ...

in the

Obama Administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

Early life and education

Meehan was raised in Pleasantville,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and graduated from Kennedy Catholic High School in Somers. She attended

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. After graduation she worked on

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

, first at

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...

and then

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Gol ...

. She later joined the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...

Career

Meehan joined the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

as a Foreign Service officer in 2004, and began her new career as a consular officer at the U.S. embassy in Bogota,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. She survived a kidnapping and physical assault by armed men in Bogota in April 2006. Two of the perpetrators were arrested and sentenced to ten years in jail, while two perpetrators were never found. She served in Colombia for two years before volunteering to serve in

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 ...

. She worked at the

U.S. Embassy in Baghdad The Embassy of the United States of America in Baghdad is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America in the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. Ambassador Alina Romanowski is currently the Head of mission, Chief of Mission. At , it is the lar ...

from 2006 to 2007 as a Consular Officer, and for several months as Special Assistant to Ambassador

Zalmay Khalilzad Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad ( ps, ځلمی خلیل زاد, prs, زلمی خلیل‌زاد; born March 22, 1951) is an Afghan-American diplomat and foreign policy expert. Khalilzad was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to serve as U.S. Specia ...

. She was wounded in Baghdad, by a rocket fired by an Iran-backed militia. In September 2007 Meehan left Iraq to study

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

at the Department of State's

Foreign Service Institute The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the United States federal government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats as well as other professionals to advance U.S. foreig ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

to prepare for her next tour as the public affairs officer at the U.S. Consulate General in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. Meehan was selected in 2007 as a Powell Fellow, recognized as one of the 12 most promising future leaders in the Department of State. In 2010 she returned to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to work as a State Department "Line Officer", advancing the Secretary of State’s overseas travel. She then become one of two Special Assistants to the Secretary of State. In 2012, Meehan was detailed to the

White House National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Execut ...

(NSC) and in 2014 she became the spokeswoman for the National Security Council. Meehan left the NSC in 2015 to become an adjunct professor and State Department resident fellow at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy in the

Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings ...

. She was recalled to the NSC to oversee the planning for President Obama's historic trip to

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', her appointment to this position reflected the importance the President put on the trip and the complicated nature of planning the visit. In February 2017, Meehan departed the Foreign Service to serve as the Chief International Officer at the

. The Obama Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization founded by President and Mrs. Obama that seeks out to inspire, empower and connect people to change their world for the better. In this role, she was responsible for developing and overseeing all international programs for the Obama Foundation, including the Obama Foundation Scholars; Leaders Africa program; Leaders Asia-Pacific program; and Leaders Europe program. Meehan served on the board of advisors for Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, within the

Walsh School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It is considered to be one of the world's leading international affairs schools, granting degrees at both ...

. She also served on the board of advisors for Hostage US, a non-profit organization that supports families of Americans taken hostage abroad and supports hostages when they return home.

Biden administration

On July 9, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Meehan to be the next

United States ambassador to Chile The following is a list of ambassadors that the United States has sent to Chile. The current title given by the United States State Department to this position is Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. See also *Ambassadors of ...

. On March 15, 2022, hearings on her nomination were held before the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid pro ...

. The committee favorably reported her nomination on May 18, 2022. On July 20, 2022, the

United States 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 pow ...

confirmed her nomination by a 51–44 vote. She was sworn in on August 29, 2022 and presented her credentials to

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Gabriel Boric Gabriel Boric Font (; born 11 February 1986) is a Chilean left-wing politician who is the 37th and current president of Chile, serving since 11 March 2022. Boric studied in the Faculty of Law at the University of Chile, and was the president of ...

on September 30, 2022.

Personal life

Meehan speaks

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and

References

External links

* *Join President Obama in Berlin
Join President Obama in Berlin:
*President Obama's Visit to Indonesia
President Obama's Visit to Indonesia
*President Obama's Visit with Emerging Leaders in Singapore
President Obama’s Visit with Emerging Leaders in Singapore
*President Obama's Visit to New Zealand
President Obama's Visit to New Zealand
*The Obama Foundation Scholars Program
The Obama Foundation Scholars Program
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meehan, Bernadette 1975 births Living people 21st-century American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Chile American financial analysts American women ambassadors Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences alumni Obama administration personnel Political spokespersons United States Foreign Service personnel United States National Security Council staffers Women financial analysts American women diplomats