Jimmy J. Kolker (born 1948) is an American diplomat. He was the ambassador to

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

from 1999 to 2002 and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

from 2002 to 2005. He was Chief of the HIV/AIDS Section at

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

’s New York headquarters from 2007 to 2011. From 2011 to 2017, Ambassador Kolker was Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs,

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...

in Washington, DC. Ambassador Kolker was recalled to the State Department in 2021 as senior advisor to the Coordinator for Global Covid Response and Health Security, working part time. Outside of government, he serves on the boards of MANA Nutrition, the G4 Global Surgery Alliance, Building Tomorrow and Firelight Foundation. He is an adjunct assistant professor at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

's Center for Global Health Science and Security and a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is an advisor to Last Mile Health, and to

Texas Children's Hospital Texas Children's Hospital is a nationally ranked, freestanding 973-bed, acute care women's and children's hospital located in Houston, Texas. It is the primary pediatric teaching hospital affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine and is located wit ...

's Global HOPE pediatric cancer initiative and to the Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem. In June, 2019, Ambassador Kolker was the commencement speaker at

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowling ...

, "How To Be Prepared for the Jobs That Don't Yet Exist". He received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at the ceremony.

Early life

Kolker graduated from

Ladue Horton Watkins High School Ladue Horton Watkins High School is a public high school in Ladue, Missouri, United States, that is administered by the Ladue School District. Its namesake, Horton Watkins, was vice president of the International Shoe Company and died in 1949. The ...

in 1966.

Early life and education

Jimmy Kolker was born in 1948 in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. He graduated with a B.A., magna cum laude from

and received a

Thomas J. Watson Fellowship The Thomas J. Watson Foundation is a charitable trust formed 1961 in honor of former chairman and CEO of IBM, Thomas J. Watson. The Foundation's stated vision is to empower students “to expand their vision, test and develop their potential, an ...

1970–71, which he spent in

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

, Uganda and

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. Kolker earned a master's degree in Public Administration from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1983.

Career

He served for four years on the Senate staff of

U.S. Senator 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 powe ...

James Abourezk James George Abourezk (born February 24, 1931) is an American attorney and Democratic politician who served as a United States senator and United States representative from South Dakota. He did not seek re-election to the US Senate in 1978. He w ...

. Kolker joined the U.S. foreign service in 1977, and held diplomatic reporting posts in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, and

the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He then moved to management jobs as Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

from 1990 to 1994, and in

Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

from 1996 to 1999. President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

nominated Kolker as

United States Ambassador to Burkina Faso This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Burkina Faso (formerly Republic of Upper Volta, Upper Volta). Until 1960 Upper Volta was a French possession as a part of French West Africa. In 1958 Upper Volta became an autonomous republic ...

on July 1, 1999, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November, 1999. He left the post on August 2, 2002. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

nominated Kolker as

United States Ambassador to Uganda The United States ambassador to Uganda is the official representative of the government of the United States to the Government of Uganda. Ambassadors See also *Uganda – United States relations *Foreign relations of Uganda *Ambassadors of ...

and he was confirmed on October 3, 2002. He left this post on September 30, 2005. From 2005 to 2007, Kolker was Deputy U.S. Global

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

Coordinator, leading implementation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). From 2007 to 2011, Kolker was Chief of the HIV/AIDS Section at

’s New York headquarters. He led UNICEF's work on HIV and AIDS, focusing on mother-to-child-transmission of HIV, pediatric treatment, prevention among adolescents and young people and protection for children and families affected by AIDS. In November 2011, Kolker returned to the U.S. Government, taking on the role of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs in the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. This office is part of the Office of the HHS Secretary. In 2014, Ambassador Kolker was promoted to Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs in the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. Kolker represented HHS at interagency and

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

meetings. His office had a leading role in global health security. He was also alternate US board member of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

Personal life

Kolker 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 ...

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

as foreign languages. He is married to Britt-Marie Forslund. They have two daughters – Anne and Eva.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolker, Jimmy J. 1948 births Ambassadors of the United States to Burkina Faso Ambassadors of the United States to Uganda Carleton College alumni Harvard University alumni Living people People from St. Louis United States Foreign Service personnel Ladue Horton Watkins High School alumni