Lesslie Clay Viguerie is an American attorney and career diplomat who serves as the United States ambassador to Kyrgyzstan since December 2022.

Education

Viguerie earned a

Bachelor of Arts 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 ...

in international relations and affairs from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

in 1982 and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the Columbus School of Law at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

Career

Viguerie is a career member of the

Senior Foreign Service The Senior Foreign Service (SFS) comprises the top four ranks of the United States Foreign Service. These ranks were created by the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and Executive Order 12293 in order to provide the Foreign Service with senior grades equ ...

, with the rank of minister-counselor. He serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central Asian and Pakistan affairs in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. Previously, he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and served as minister-counselor for political affairs at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India. Viguerie was also director for Europe and Asia in the

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) is an agency that reports to the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights within the Department of State. Under the umbrella of its general mis ...

and Director for Central Asia in the Bureau of South and Central Asia Affairs. Previous overseas assignments include Deputy Political Counselor for the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, Senior Director of the Interagency Rule of Law Section for the U.S. Embassy in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, and external political relations chief for the U.S. Embassy in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. Viguerie has also served in the

United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs The United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nations (UN) with responsibility for monitoring and assessing global political developments and advising and assisting t ...

. Viguerie is an expert on Central Asia and an advocate for effective policy. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

United States ambassador to Kyrgyzstan

On February 25, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Viguerie to serve as the United States ambassador to Kyrgyzstan. Hearings on his nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 27, 2022. The committee favorably reported his nomination on August 3, 2022. He was confirmed by the whole

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 ...

on September 29, 2022 via

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 ...

. He presented his credentials to President

Sadyr Japarov Sadyr Nurgojoyevich Japarov (sometimes Zhaparov) (; ky, Садыр Нургожо уулу Жапаров, translit=Sadyr Nurghozho uulu Zhaparov; born 6 December 1968) is a Kyrgyz politician who has served as the president of Kyrgyzstan since ...

on December 29, 2022.

Awards and recognitions

Viguerie has received numerous State Department performance awards, including a Senior Foreign Service Performance award.

Personal life

Viguerie is a native of Virginia. He speaks Russian,

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

, and Portuguese.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viguerie, Lesslie Living people American diplomats George Washington University alumni Catholic University of America alumni Columbus School of Law alumni United States Foreign Service personnel United States Department of State officials Year of birth missing (living people) Ambassadors of the United States to Kyrgyzstan