Karen Brevard Stewart (born April 10, 1952, Florida) is an American

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 ...

who was the United States Ambassador to the Marshall Islands. She was nominated by 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 United States Ambassador to the Marshall Islands on November 5, 2015, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 17, 2016. Stewart also served as

United States Ambassador to Belarus The United States ambassador to Belarus is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Belarus. Until 1991 the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic had been a constituent SSR of the Soviet Union. ...

from August 14, 2006, to March 12, 2008, and as

United States Ambassador to Laos This is a list of United States ambassadors to Laos. The United States established full diplomatic relations with Laos in 1955, following its full independence from France in 1954. On 29 December 1961, during the Laotian Civil War, President John ...

from November 2010 to August 2013.

Early life and education

Stewart is the daughter of Brevard Nisbet Stewart and Selden L. Stewart II. In 1973 Stewart graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

with a BA in

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

. She then studied astronomy at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Career

Stewart joined the Foreign Service in 1977. Her early international assignments have included ones in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Her domestic assignments have included serving as international relations officer in the State Department's Office of Fisheries Affairs, economic officer in the Office of Energy Consuming Countries, and economic-commercial desk officer in the Office of Israel and Arab-Israeli Affairs. Stewart earned an MS in national security strategy from 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 ...

of the National Defense University in 1998. Stewart was deputy chief of mission in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

from 2004 to 2004 and in 2006 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 her to be the country's ambassador. However, following U.S. imposed sanctions, President Alexander Lukashenko pressured Stewart to leave the country in 2008. The United States had been a persistent critic of Lukashenko. Belarus has been labeled "Europe's last dictatorship" by some Western journalists, on account of Lukashenko's self-described

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

style of government. Lukashenko and other Belarusian officials are also the subject of sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States for alleged

human rights violations Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hum ...

off and on since 2006. In 2010 Stewart became U.S. Ambassador to Laos, where she had held two earlier posts. When President Barack Obama nominated her to become U.S. Ambassador to the Marshall Islands, Stewart was serving as political adviser to the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, a role she had held since 2013.U.S. Ambassador to the Marshall Islands: Who Is Karen Brevard Stewart?
AllGov, January 1, 2016 She arrived in the country on July 16, 2016.

Personal

In addition to English, Stewart speaks Lao, Russian and Thai.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Karen Brevard 1952 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Belarus Ambassadors of the United States to Laos Ambassadors of the United States to the Marshall Islands National War College alumni Obama administration personnel University of Virginia alumni Wellesley College alumni United States Foreign Service personnel American women ambassadors 21st-century American women civil servants 21st-century American diplomats