Dennis Bruce Hankins (born 1959) is an American diplomat who is serving as American Ambassador to Haiti. He previously served as the United States Ambassador to Mali between 2019 and 2022 and the

United States Ambassador to Guinea The United States ambassador to Guinea is the official representative of the government of the United States to the government of Guinea. This is a list of the United States ambassadors to Guinea Ambassadors See also *Guinea – United States ...

between 2015 and 2019.

Early life and education

Hankins earned a B.S.F.S. at Georgetown University and an M.S. at the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

Consular career

Hankins joined the Foreign Service in 1984. His first overseas postings were as vice-consul in Recife, Brazil and then in the U.S. Embassy in Thailand. In 1989, Hankins was posted to

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and then in 1992, given the job of consul in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. Four years later, Hankins was again posted to Africa to become the political and economic counselor in the

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, working there during the

First Congo War The First Congo War, group=lower-alpha (1996–1997), also nicknamed Africa's First World War, was a civil war and international military conflict which took place mostly in Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo), with major spillo ...

and, for a lesser time, the

Second Congo War The Second Congo War,, group=lower-alpha also known as the Great War of Africa or the Great African War and sometimes referred to as the African World War, began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year a ...

. He moved to be the political and economic counselor in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, Portugal in 1999, spending just two years in the job before returning to Africa to be the deputy chief of mission in Maputo, Mozambique. In 2004, Hankins was appointed consul general in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia but was recalled to Washington to become the deputy director of the Office of Peacekeeping in the Bureau of International Organizations. He returned to Africa in 2007 to be deputy chief of mission in Nouakchott,

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

and, in 2010, returned to Khartoum,

as the deputy chief of mission.

Ambassadorships

Ambassador to Guinea

In 2012, Hankins was given the post of consul general in Sao Paulo, Brazil, staying in the post until his nomination as

by President Obama on July 8, 2015. He was confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on October 22 the same year.

Ambassador to Mali

On 13 August 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Hankins to be the U.S. Ambassador to Mali. The nomination was tendered to the Senate on August 16, 2018, and he was confirmed on January 2, 2019. He presented his credentials to President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta on March 15, 2019.

Ambassador to Haiti

On May 19, 2023, President Joe Biden nominated Hankins to be the next ambassador to Haiti. His nomination was reported by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 20, 2023 and confirmed by the full Senate on March 14, 2024. He arrived in Haiti on March 26, 2024. He presented his credentials on May 3, 2024.https://twitter.com/USEmbassyHaiti/status/1786478588541174204?t=-T1WPomj4rBAPkx0zuGewQ&s=19

Personal life

Hankins has a wife, Mira, and a son, Danu, who works for the U.S. Navy. He speaks

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Portuguese, and

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hankins, Dennis B. 1959 births Living people Georgetown University alumni United States Foreign Service personnel National War College alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Guinea Ambassadors of the United States to Mali 21st-century American diplomats