Laurie Susan Fulton (née Klinkel; born July 2, 1949) is an American attorney, diplomat and the former

United States Ambassador to Denmark The first representative from the United States to Denmark was appointed in 1827 as a Chargé d'Affaires. There followed a series of chargés and ministers until 1890 when the first full ambassador ''(Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten ...

. She was sworn in on July 15, 2009, and presented her credentials to the

Queen of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark was a ...

on August 3, 2009. She resigned effective February 15, 2013. In March 2013, she returned to Williams & Connolly LLP until July 2014.

Early life and education

Fulton was born in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

. Prior to entering the field of law, Fulton worked in various positions on Capitol Hill. Fulton earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the

University of Nebraska at Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...

from 1970/1 and a J.D. from the

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

from 1986 to 1989, both '' magna cum laude.''. From 1982 to 1985, she was executive director of Peace Links, an organization dedicated to involving mainstream women to end the threat of nuclear war, engage in peace-building and promote alternative means of resolving international conflicts. Fulton served on the Peace Links Board of Directors from 1989 to 2000. Her work was honored with the Pioneering Peace Builder Award by the National Peace Foundation in 2002.

Legal career

Prior to becoming ambassador and again after resigning as ambassador, Fulton was a partner at the law firm of

Williams & Connolly Williams & Connolly LLP is an American law firm based in Washington, D.C. The firm was founded by trial lawyer Edward Bennett Williams in collaboration with Paul Connolly, a former student of his. Williams left the partnership of D.C. firm Hog ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where her law practice included complex civil litigation, government investigations, and

white-collar criminal The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. It was first defined by the sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as "a ...

defense. In 2004, she was named as one of "Washington's Top Lawyers" by ''Washingtonian'', a DC magazine. She is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia and Virginia, the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...

, Fourth and Eleventh Circuits and various United States District Courts. Fulton was an active member of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

, and the Litigation, Criminal Justice and International Law Sections. She served as co-chair of the Criminal Litigation Committee of the Litigation Section.

Federal foreign service

Fulton has long-standing ties to Denmark. Her maternal grandfather immigrated to the United States from Denmark and served in the

United States armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

in Europe during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Her great-grandfather served in the

Danish parliament The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands an ...

from 1918 to 1940.

Other activities

Fulton also has been active in community and non-profit organizations. In January 2004, she 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 ...

to serve on the board of directors of the

United States Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American Federal government of the United States, federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individual ...

and was co-chair of the USIP International Advisory Council.

Personal life

Fulton was married to future-U.S. Senate Majority Leader

Tom Daschle Thomas Andrew Daschle ( ; born December 9, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he became U.S. Senate Minority Leader in 1995 an ...

, with whom she had three children, Kelly,

Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...

, and Lindsay, before divorcing in 1983. Fulton has five grandchildren.

References

External links

Laurie S. Fulton
at the US Embassy in Denmark website
Stimson Board of Directors
Laurie S. Fulton.
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts
White House Press Release, May 27, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fulton, Laurie S. 1949 births Living people Georgetown University Law Center alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Denmark University of Nebraska Omaha alumni Lawyers from Washington, D.C. American people of Danish descent The Stimson Center American women ambassadors 21st-century American women