Jeffrey D. Levine (born 1955) was nominated by U.S. 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 ...

to be the

United States Ambassador to Estonia This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Estonia. The United States has maintained continuous official diplomatic relations with Estonia (as well as Latvia and Lithuania) since 1922, when one ambassador, resident in Riga, Latvia, wa ...

on February 17, 2012 United States Department of State
Biography: Jeffrey Levine and was confirmed by 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 ...

on March 29, 2012. He presented his credentials to

President of Estonia The president of the Republic of Estonia ( et, Eesti Vabariigi President) is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid. Estonia is ...

Toomas Hendrik Ilves Toomas Hendrik Ilves (; born 26 December 1953) is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016. Ilves worked as a diplomat and journalist, and he was the leader of the Social Democratic Party in the ...

on September 17, 2012. U.S. Embassy, Tallinn Official website: Ambassador He left his post in 2015.

Early life and education

Growing up in the

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Area, he holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from California State University, Humboldt and a master's degree in Resource Strategy 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 Washington D.C.

Career

Before joining the Department of State, Jeff Levine worked as a newspaper reporter for seven years and was a founding staff member of ''

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'', one of the largest newspapers in the United States.

Public service

Levine joined the Foreign Service in 1985. At 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 ...

, he served in the Operations Center as desk officer for Hungary and as a special assistant to the Under Secretary for Management. He served as Deputy Chief of Mission/Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, Hungary from 2007 to 2010. In addition to his assignment in Hungary, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in

Sofia, Bulgaria Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

and has also been posted to Brasilia, Brazil; Nicosia, Cyprus; Alexandria, Egypt; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Lima, Peru.http://www.xpatloop.com/interview/382 XpatLoop, Xpat Interview: Jeffrey D.Levine, November 11, 2009 Levine is a member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. At the time of his nomination, he had been the State Department's director of Recruitment, Examination and Employment since September 2010. Levine has received numerous Department of State awards as well as the Golden Laurel Medal, presented by the

Government of Bulgaria The Council of Ministers ( bg, Министерски съвет, ''Ministerski savet'') is the main authority of the executive power in the Republic of Bulgaria. It consists of the Prime Minister of Bulgaria and all the specialized ministers. ...

Personal life

Jeff Levine is married to Janie L. Keeler and has a son, Nick. Levine has studied Spanish, Portuguese, Bulgarian and Hungarian and is currently taking Estonian lessons.

References

External links

Official website: Ambassador

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130127071624/http://estonia.usembassy.gov/history2.html Official website: Historybr>Testimony of Jeffrey D. Levine Ambassador-Designate to the Republic of Estonia, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levine, Jeffrey D. 1955 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Estonia American male journalists Date of birth missing (living people) California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt alumni National Defense University alumni Place of birth missing (living people) United States Foreign Service personnel