Jessica Davis Ba is an American diplomat who serves as the United States ambassador to Ivory Coast in the Biden administration. She previously served as Senior Coordinator and Special Advisor for Africa in the Office of the Vice President. Davis Ba previously served as the

Chargé d’Affaires Chargé () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division) ...

, ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in

N’Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''. The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are the c ...

, Chad.

Early life and education

Davis Ba earned Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Environmental Studies and a Master of Arts in Communication from the University of Pennsylvania; she earned her master's at Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. She completed doctoral research on communication technologies and development in Africa as a

National Security Education Program The National Security Education Program (NSEP) was a U.S. federal government initiative to enhance the national security of the U.S. by increasing the national capacity to understand and interact effectively with foreign cultures and languages. NSE ...

David L. Boren Graduate Fellow and went on to teach in the Communication, Culture and Technology Program at Georgetown University before joining the Foreign Service.

Career

Davis Ba is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, with the rank of counselor. Davis Ba was also the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Mission to the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

and U.S. deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She served as deputy program director at the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as special assistant in the

State Department Operations Center The United States Department of State’s Operations Center (S/ES-O) monitors world events, prepares written briefs for the United States Secretary of State, Secretary of State and other U.S. State Department senior officials, and facilitates comm ...

, and as deputy director, international narcotics and law enforcement at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Other assignments include serving as deputy counselor for economic affairs and regional labor officer at the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya and as political/economic officer for the Somalia affairs unit in the U.S. embassy in Nairobi. Davis Ba also served as the deputy director of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement section in Iraq.

U.S. ambassador to Ivory Coast

On June 8, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Davis Ba to be the next ambassador to

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. On August 3, 2022, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The committee favorably reported the nomination to the Senate floor on December 7, 2022. On December 15, 2022, her nomination was confirmed in the Senate by voice vote. Davis Ba presented her credentials to President Alassane Ouattara on March 2, 2023.

Personal life

Davis Ba 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 ...

and Spanish.

References

Living people 21st-century American diplomats Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Ambassadors of the United States to Chad Ambassadors of the United States to Ivory Coast American women academics American women ambassadors Georgetown University faculty University of Pennsylvania alumni American women diplomats {{US-diplomat-stub