Laura S. H. Holgate is an American diplomat who has served as the

United States ambassador to the United Nations International Organizations in Vienna The United States Ambassador to the United Nations International Organizations in Vienna is the diplomatic representative of the United States to those organizations of the United Nations Office in Vienna. Organizations include: the Internation ...

since 2022 and previously from 2016 to 2017. She also served as United States ambassador to the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

from 2016 to 2017.

Education

Holgate earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and a Master of Arts in political science from

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

Career

Holgate began her career at the

Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs The Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, also known as the Belfer Center, is a research center located within the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, in the United States. From 2017 until his death in Oc ...

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 ...

. From 1995 through 1998, Holgate was special coordinator for cooperative threat reduction at the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

and, from 1998 to 2001, she directed the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fissile Materials Disposition from 1998 to 2001. Holgate was a founding Vice President of

Nuclear Threat Initiative The Nuclear Threat Initiative, generally referred to as NTI, is a non-profit organization located in Washington, D.C. The American foreign policy think tank was founded in 2001 by former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and describes itself as a "nonprofit ...

, leading its Russia/New Independent States programs from 2001 to 2009. left, thumbtime=682, start=682, end=1165, Laura Holgate after the Nuclear Security Summit 2010 From 2009 to 2016, Holgate served as the special assistant to the president and senior director for weapons of mass destruction terrorism and threat reduction on the

U.S. National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Exe ...

. She was the U.S. Sherpa to the Nuclear Security Summits and worked with White House WMD Czar

Gary Samore Gary Samore is the Crown Family Director of thCrown Center for Middle East Studiesand Professor of the Practice in Politics at Brandeis University. He formerly served as the Executive Director for Research of the Belfer Center for Science and Inte ...

to first implemented

Gift basket diplomacy Gift basket diplomacy is an approach to multilateral negotiation aimed at pushing forward progress on a particular issue without the requirement of consensus. The policy is most often seen in United Nations style diplomatic meetings where a parti ...

in the

2010 Nuclear Security Summit The 2010 Nuclear Security Summit was a Summit (meeting), summit held in Washington, D.C., on April 12 and 13, 2010. The Summit focused on how to better safeguard weapons-grade plutonium and uranium to prevent nuclear terrorism. Overview The New S ...

and

2012 Nuclear Security Summit The 2012 Nuclear Security Summit was a summit held at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea, on March 26 and 27, 2012.

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

(NSC) Director for Nuclear Threat Reduction

Shawn Gallagher Shawn Gallagher was the National Security Council's Director for Nuclear Threat Reduction in the Obama Administration. Gallagher was a former professional baseball player in the Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, and Montreal Expos organizations. ...

is credited with conceiving and first proposing the policy. In 2016, Holgate was confirmed as the

. She was also America's representative at the

and the other significant UN offices in Vienna. During 2016 she was given a Nunn-Lugar Trailblazer Award for reducing the risk of nuclear war. The other recipients were Dr.

Gloria Duffy Gloria Charmian Duffy (born September 4, 1953) is a former U.S. Department of Defense official, businesswoman, social entrepreneur and nonprofit executive. Since 1996, she has been the president, CEO and a member of the Board of Governors of the Co ...

, Dr. Susan Koch and Ms.

Jane Wales Jane Wales (born 1948) is an American non-profit executive and former US government official who has served on the boards of directors of and founded many institutions. She is the Vice President of the Aspen Institute, and was the CEO of the World ...

. She served until January 2017. From 2017 to 2021, she was vice president for Materials Management at the Washington-based

. In November 2018 she introduced the ideas of

International Gender Champions International Gender Champions (IGC) is a network of female and male leaders of member states, international organizations, and civil society working for gender equality. It is an initiative of Women@TheTable, and was founded in 2015 by Caitlin Kr ...

into nuclear policy.

Biden administration

On July 27, 2021, President Joe Biden announced the nomination of Holgate to serve again as the

United States Ambassador to the United Nations International Organizations in Vienna The United States Ambassador to the United Nations International Organizations in Vienna is the diplomatic representative of the United States to those organizations of the United Nations Office in Vienna. Organizations include: the Internation ...

. Her nominations to the

United Nations Office at Vienna The United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) is one of the four major office sites of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The office complex is located in Vienna, the capital of Austria, and is part of the ...

and to the

were sent to the Senate the following day. Hearings on her nominations were held before the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid pro ...

on September 30, 2021. The committee reported the nominations favorably on October 19, 2021. 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 ...

confirmed the nomination to the United Nations Office at Vienna on December 18, 2021, by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. On February 1, 2022, she presented her credentials to Ghada Fathi Waly, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna. Holgate's nomination to the IAEA expired at the end of the year and was returned to President Biden on January 3, 2022. Holgate's nomination was resent the following day. The committee favorably reported the nomination on January 12, 2022. On March 29, 2022, the Senate confirmed the nomination to the International Atomic Energy Agency by voice vote. She presented her credentials to

Rafael Grossi Rafael Mariano Grossi (born 29 January 1961) is an Argentina, Argentine diplomat. He has served as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since December 3, 2019. He was formerly the Argentine Ambassador to Austria, concu ...

, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, on April 8, 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holgate, Laura S. H. American women ambassadors Ambassadors of the United States Living people MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni Permanent Representatives of the United States to the United Nations American women political scientists American political scientists Princeton University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women American women diplomats