Cynthia Akuetteh (born Cynthia Helen Archie in 1948) is a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and was the United States Ambassador to São Tomé and Príncipe and United States Ambassador to Gabon.

Early life and education

Akuetteh was born Cynthia Helen Archie in Washington, D.C. to Richard Louis Archie II and Sallie Dolores Hines. She earned a B.A. degree in history with honors from C.W. Post College of

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...

in 1970, and was awarded a master's degree in National Security Resource Policy from the

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

in 1973. Akuetteh completed two years of graduate study at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Career

Akuetteh began her career with the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

. Her initial assignment was as a Program Officer in Washington, D.C. She then moved to Ghana as Deputy Director of the program there. After Akuetteh entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1984, she held a series of international assignments in

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesTanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Much of her subsequent work was focused on Africa. She served as the Deputy Director of the Africa Bureau's Economic Policy Staff, and later as Director of the Office of Central African Affairs, overseeing bilateral relations with ten African nations. She also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs from 2012 to 2013. In 2012 she headed the U.S. delegation to a meeting of the US – Nigeria Bi-national Commission on the Niger Delta and National Development Working Group held in Port Harcourt. She appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee December 17, 2013 to discuss her vision for her role as ambassador. Following Senate confirmation, she was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

and

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...

on August 1, 2014. She presented her credentials in those nations on December 26, 2014, and April 10, 2015, respectively. At a time of political unrest in Gabon, she publicly expressed concern over any "extra-constitutional" moves for regime change and promoted "democratic" solutions. In May 2015, Akuetteh welcomed U.S. military members joining together with military from 15 African countries as well as the U.N. at the opening ceremony of the Central Accord 2015 exercise at Libreville, Gabon. Akuetteh noted that the prime purpose of the undertaking was to maintain peace and strengthen the relationships of the countries participating. She retired on February 26, 2018.

Personal

Akuetteh was previously married to

Nii Akuetteh Nii Akuetteh is a Ghanaian born policy analyst and activist. Akuetteh is the founder of the Democracy & Conflict Research Institute based in Accra, Ghana. He is the former executive director of Africa Action and Editor at TransAfrica. He was marr ...

, founder of the Democracy and Conflict Research Institute in Ghana. They have two adult children.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Akuetteh, Cynthia 1948 births Living people African-American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Gabon Ambassadors of the United States to São Tomé and Príncipe School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni Long Island University alumni National Defense University alumni Obama administration personnel United States Foreign Service personnel American women ambassadors 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American diplomats