Catherine M. Croft is a
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 ...
official who has served as a special advisor for
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
both in the State Department and on 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 ...
. Croft has been scheduled to testify in closed-door hearings before the House Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees in October 2019.
Career
Croft worked as a Senior Research Associate for the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) where, in 2006, she was involved in the
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
Program, contributing to a draft constitution, minority rights legislation, and final status negotiations. Prior to this position, she spent several years working in community development and public health in Latin America.
On September 23, 2010 The
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
nominated Croft for a promotion in her role as Foreign Service Officer. She was promoted to Foreign Service Officer Class Four on Sept. 21, 2015
In 2012 Croft was one of the ELO's (entry level officers) to leave the U.S. Consulate General in
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Ju ...
for the Baja peninsula to serve as a site officer, preparing for the
G20
The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigatio ...
meeting that the
United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
would participate in.
Croft's work on
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
began in 2013 when she was posted to the U.S. Mission at
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, where her work included NATO-Ukraine relations. When
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
invaded Ukraine, she was moved to the NATO Headquarters in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. From August 2015 to July 2017, Croft was a Ukraine specialist at State Department Headquarters, working on security assistance, arms sales, defense reform and anti-corruption efforts. In July 2017 Croft was asked to join the National Security Council staff at the White House.
In her role heading the European Affairs Department of the White House NSC, Croft welcomed the Armenia-USA delegation of the Armenian parliament, which had meetings at the White House and the Congress in Washington D.C. During the meeting the Armenian MPs presented her with several issues regarding regional security, particularly regarding ceasefire violations on NKR-Azerbaijan border.
In 2018 Croft had served as the U.S. Director of
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
and Director at 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 ...
.The OSCE is the world's largest security-oriented
intergovernmental organization
Globalization is social change associated with increased connectivity among societies and their elements and the explosive evolution of transportation and telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various typ ...
. Its mandate includes issues such as
arms control
Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Arms control is typically exercised through the u ...
, promotion of
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
,
freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
, and fair elections. It employs around 3,460 people, mostly in its field operations but also in its secretariat in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and its institutions. It has its origins in the 1975 Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) held in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland.The OSCE is concerned with early warning, conflict prevention,
crisis management
Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization or its stakeholders. The study of crisis management originated with large-scale industrial and envir ...
, and post-conflict rehabilitation. Its 57 participating countries are located in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, northern and central
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, and
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. The participating states cover much of the land area of the
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
. It was created during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
era as an East–West forum.
In February 2018 Croft met with Parliamentary Assembly President George Tsereteli (Georgia) from the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
when he visited Washington meet with Members of Congress and officials from the U.S. National Security Council and State Department. Ukraine was the focus during a meeting of Tsereteli with Chris Anderson, Special Advisor to Ambassador
Kurt Volker
Kurt Douglas Volker (born December 27, 1964) is an American diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to NATO and served as executive director of the McCain Institute for International Leadership. He worked in a volunteer capacity as the U.S. ...
, Office of the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations; Elisabeth Millard, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs; and Catherine Croft in her role as OSCE Director at the National Security Council. Tsereteli emphasized in his dialogue the "conflicts, human rights, hybrid threats from Russia, as well as role of America in addressing the challenges."
Impeachment Inquiry
In the summer of 2019 Croft took over a role from colleague
Christopher Anderson as deputy to then-Special Envoy for
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
Kurt Volker
Kurt Douglas Volker (born December 27, 1964) is an American diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to NATO and served as executive director of the McCain Institute for International Leadership. He worked in a volunteer capacity as the U.S. ...
. Given that she had served at the National Security Council, focusing on Ukraine issues, and on the State Department's Ukraine desk, Croft is acknowledged to be "steeped in the policy issues" surrounding the U.S.-Ukraine relationship. Sources familiar with the department say Croft took "very specific interest in the" political-military portfolio of the Ukraine but refused to work with
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
on Ukraine issues.
In her opening statement to congressional committees, Croft noted with regard to former Republican lawmaker
Bob Livingston
Robert Linlithgow Livingston Jr. (born April 30, 1943) is an American lobbyist and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Louisiana from 1977 to 1999. A Republican, he was chosen as Newt Gingrich's successor as Speaker of the U.S. ...
:
During my time at the NSC, I received multiple calls from lobbyist Robert Livingston, who told me that Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch
Marie Louise "Masha" Yovanovitch (born November 11, 1958) is a Canadian-American former diplomat and retired senior member of the United States Foreign Service. She served in multiple State Department posts, including Senior Advisor to the Unde ...
should be fired. He characterized Ambassador Yovanovitch as an " Obama holdover" and associated with George Soros
George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Croft, Catherine
American diplomats
Trump administration personnel
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)